Red Son
by Super Vegetarott
Summary: The Red Ribbon Army, the most feared and capable military unit in the world, saw a crushing defeat at the hands of Son Goku during his Dragon Ball escapades. Soon after, Dr. Gero was the last surviving remnant of the army and swore vengeance on the child for taking away all that he'd known. But what of a world where Son Goku was not the RRA's downfall... but its greatest asset?
1. Chapter 1: Interference

_In the story you all know, shortly following Bardock's failed attempt to save Planet Vegeta from its inevitable destruction, a lone space pod would be sent off on a voyage into the stars. The young child it carried on its path was the young Saiyan warrior Kakarot, who, at this point in time, had infinite possibilities. _

_However, in this universe, a change in Bardock's confrontation with Frieza would result in the birth of an entire new story for Kakarot. In one world, he may have landed near Gohan's residence; in another, he may have landed on Namek due to the turbulence of his ship. Every small sequence in the journey of life can result in the universe's balance, creating infinite worlds that have yet to be explored._

_But those are entirely different universes altogether, strung together only by their similarity of events prior to this massive divergence. Those two possibilities are straight out of the multiverse's endless scenarios._

_In one of those worlds, there was no asteroid to impede upon Kakarot's journey, and the end result found him as the lovable protector of Earth and its people... but this is not that story. __In this universe, that asteroid did collide, and he would be discovered by an elderly man with the surname of 'Gero...'_

_...and thus, the legacy of Kakarot begins._

* * *

><p><strong>Red Son Prologue – Divergence<strong>

Bardock stood alone, looking into the crimson skies of Planet Vegeta. Just above the atmosphere was Frieza, the mighty Arcosian who was universally known as the overseer of the Planet Trade Organization—the most feared being in all of existence.

He was about to attempt the impossible, he realized. Frieza's power far outclassed anything that a Saiyan warrior could ever hope to achieve. However, he wasn't about to let that stop him, not when the very fate of the Saiyan race was at stake. His heart was pounding, his blood boiling with anticipation. He would either prevail over his former overlord, the one who, with a simple command to Dodoria, had put him and his task force through such strife and agony… or die trying, alone and forgotten.

At first, their relationship as business partners had worked out well—Frieza allowed them to conquer other worlds with the use of the empire's technology, which, in turn, satiated their lust for battle. Planet Vegeta was soon renovated into a military base for the business, allowing them for better thriving civilization and better prosperity—life couldn't be better for the barbaric savages after being employed by the seemingly-friendly Arcosian. It seemed to have been a beneficial relationship for both parties, but then the Frost Demon had begun to take note of the Saiyans' overwhelming potential.

Though their power was inconsequential when compared to Frieza's, the Arcosian tyrant feared their strength in numbers. As such, his right-hand man—Zarbon, the narcissistic, self-proclaimed beauty—had recommended utter and complete extermination of them all. Frieza had heeded such advice, eventually deeming it a good idea to do so.

Now, at this very moment, said Frost Demon was currently occupying the upper atmosphere of Planet Vegeta—ready to vaporize the planet without so much of a battle. In truth, the lizard-resembling creature did fear them—if they were to hold an uprising at the moment, there was a _slight _chance they could succeed. Needless to say, Frieza couldn't allow that to happen.

Due to his psychic abilities, Bardock knew he hadn't much time to make his last stand—it was now or never. Beginning to levitate, the Saiyan prepared to blast off to his destiny, clenching his hands into fists and grounding his teeth as he thought of all the lives that would be taken if Frieza was able to carry through with his mission. He didn't care at all about the lives the Frost Demon had taken; what mattered was that he dared to claim the souls of his own people. Though he may not have cared for each and every one of his fellow Saiyan warriors, he could still feel and share in their undying devotion for battle and honor.

And if he failed to stop Frieza today, he knew that it was simply all over. Nothing would remain of the Saiyans—their culture, their people, and their planet would be all blown to smithereens.

With the thought of extinction and death running rampant through Bardock's mind, he quickly ignited his clear aura and dashed off into the skies, preparing for what would be the final chapter in the battle for Planet Vegeta.

As his ship lazily drew closer to its destination, Frieza was unable to tear his gaze from the red asteroid of a planet. It was really a beautiful thing to behold, yet it was filled with all those filthy primates—that simply wouldn't do.

"What a stunning sight…" he said with that sinister grin of his, taking in every aspect of the planet that he could before it would be gone. "…Sometimes I amaze myself at how callous I can be."

Behind him, with no less of a malicious smirk, stood his right-hand man, who casually swept his long braid behind his ear. "Well, sire…"

Suddenly, a dull sound reverberated around the chamber as the doors opened, and through it came a running soldier, who immediately halted in his tracks and saluted upon seeing his overlord. "Lord Frieza!" he began, not wasting a moment, "an intruder is approaching!"

Nonchalantly, Frieza lifted his brow, amused with the idea of someone actually daring to challenge his reign. "Oh? Do tell… perhaps I'll even get my hands dirty for once."

"_**Frieza!"**_

Bardock lunged through the upper atmosphere of Planet Vegeta, ruthlessly fending off a continuous garrison of soldiers as he did so. Though they had the advantage in numbers, the angered warrior refused to allow that fact to deter him from his ultimate goal. With each round of soldiers, the Saiyan continuously fended them off with a combination of well-maneuvered blows, decimating them in his wake.

However, he soon found that his previous wounds were catching up to him; he couldn't endure the pain much longer. As such, he made a foolish pause, which would prove to be his undoing. Immediately, he was subdued by a swarm of soldiers. Trapped within the clump of warriors, Bardock found himself incapable of moving even the slightest limb.

Unfortunately for these soldiers, the revenge-lusting warrior wasn't keen on giving up so easily. Summoning whatever reserves he had left in his body, Bardock summoned his azure aura and released it around his immediate flank in a maelstrom of energy, resulting in his foes being instantly incapacitated. They fell into the lower atmosphere of Planet Vegeta, unconscious, though the spiky-haired Saiyan didn't even spare them a glance—they weren't his main concern. All that was on his mind was revenge—pure, utter retribution for what Frieza had ordered upon him and his people. Though he may not have gotten along with some of his fellow warriors so well, Bardock respected the Saiyan code of honor just as much as the next tail-donning humanoid. To think that Frieza would try to deny that from him and his kin was just purely unacceptable…

Fueling himself with these thoughts, Bardock dashed forward once more, barreling through a massive pack of soldiers, his burning aura never once faltering. How many soldiers had he slain? He didn't know. All that mattered was that he gained revenge—his rightful revenge. The death toll was inconsequential; as long as Frieza's life was snuffed out this day, Bardock didn't care how many lives he had to take.

Suddenly, he was trapped by another body of soldiers, rendering him incapable of moving. However, unlike before, Bardock was able to summon a burst of energy from his right palm, which he then detonated instantaneously. The soldiers, like their predecessors, immediately fell back into the gravity of the Saiyan homeworld, deceased.

"Frieza!" the Saiyan shouted, ablaze with absolute fury. The spaceship was in clear sight; there was no escape. At last, the moment of truth had come… he would either prevail here, or perish, like the rest of his race would. The final battle was only moments away…

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, another clamp of soldiers surrounded him, trapping him and rendering him incapable of moving. He tried to flex his muscles in order to concentrate even a modicum of his power, but even that proved to be too much. He was soon losing feeling in his arms; his legs began to grow numb shortly after.

To make matters worse, the remaining soldiers quickly swarmed Bardock, throwing punches and kicks at the subdued warrior to wear him down further. Though the power difference was quite significant between the Saiyan and each individual soldier, their combined power was more than enough to send the bandana-wearing warrior reeling with each barrage of blows.

But he simply couldn't quit here; the stakes were much too high for submittal. He refused to go out to a pack of grunts that were nowhere near Frieza in strength, nor would he allow himself to lose at all. He didn't care how, but Frieza had to be stopped.

"FRIEZA!" Just the thought of slaughtering that vile demon invigorated Bardock with newfound power, which he used to send an explosive burst of energy all around him, sending the soldiers congregating around him into all different directions.

Not missing a beat, the Saiyan flew higher into the air and fired a sphere of an azure hue, instantly vaporizing an entire garrison of soldiers in his wake. He followed this up by preparing another sphere in his right hand, which he threatened to throw at the remainder of Frieza's minions.

"If you want a fight, bring it!" he shouted, dashing towards the final horde of warriors with a battle cry. 'I can't die here… not when the fate of the Saiyans depends on it!'

With one swift maneuver, he threw his leg in an arc, catching one blue-skinned warrior in the jaw with a bone-shattering kick. The wounded soldier fell back, unintentionally crashing into his comrades, leaving them wide open for attack. Quickly capitalizing on this, Bardock threw his sphere of energy and watched with a solemn expression as it detonated, instantly vaporizing the remaining warriors.

"It's terrible, isn't it? Those poor fools are like dominos—if you tip one over, they all fall…just like you filthy, idiotic monkeys."

Instantly, Bardock whipped around to lock eyes with his former overlord, who was slowly levitating down to his level with that smug expression of his. For once, he didn't arrive with his hoverchair, signifying that he was ready for battle. His garnet eyes looked as sinister as ever, directing their gaze solely on him.

"Frieza…" he growled, tightly clenching his fists as he tried to control his burning emotions, "…Y-You…"

"I will admit, however," the Frost Demon continued on, completely interrupting him, "you somehow caught wind of my plans… however, you're sadly mistaken if you think you'd be able to stop me from blowing your precious planet into dust." Casually, he raised his right index finger, a small orange sphere beginning to form at the very tip of his nail.

"I don't care what it takes; you won't continue your reign of terror over my people! We're done working for you!" Immediately, he dashed towards his opponent in a flare of blue light, his left arm outstretched for a roundhouse punch, his mind burning with rage and the desire to see the tyrant dead at his feet. 'Tora…Fasha… Shugesh… Borgos… this is for you!'

He quickly swung his fist, watching with a confident smirk as it raced towards the tyrant's exposed skull—

—but his momentum was quickly halted when Frieza's left hand lackadaisically reached upward and caught it, putting pressure on it by twisting it ever so slightly. Immediately, his arm was burning with unadulterated pain, enough so that the shock nearly sent Bardock into unconscious

'W-What?' thought Bardock as he tried to free himself from Frieza's death grip . '…There's no way he could be this strong…'

"Such bravery of yours should be rewarded, you know," said the tyrant chillingly as he stared into the Saiyan's onyx eyes with that merciless grin, watching with twisted amusement as he tried to prevent crying out in agony. "I'd say that you deserve the distinction of being the last Saiyan in existence, wouldn't you say?"

"I'd rather die than watch everything burn to shreds… and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

His response caught Frieza off-guard, visibly causing the tyrant to frown for a moment as he pondered the implications of his opponent's words. "Wh-what are you-"

"If I'm going to die… I may as well take you with me!" Bardock's free hand stretched out as quick as lightning and caught the Arcosian's jaw, which, out of surprise, forced Frieza to drop his grip on the Saiyan. He would then quickly dash behind Frieza and wrap his arms around his neck in a sleeper hold, lock his legs around Frieza's tail, and summon up as much power as he possibly could—and more. He couldn't afford to fail here, not when everything was on the line.

"Foolish monkey… let go of me this instant!" Frieza hissed, trying to squirm his way out of Bardock's grip to no avail. 'What the hell is he planning—no Saiyan should have a power like this! Could he be…'

"I swore that Planet Vegeta wouldn't be destroyed… and I meant it. If that means killing myself in order to preserve the Saiyan people, I'm all for it!" Tightening his grip on his former overlord, Bardock prepared for the end. "Say goodbye, Fri-"

BZZZZT! Somehow, someway, it all took a turn for the worse. Somehow slipping one finger free, Frieza pressed it into Bardock's abdomen and fired a Death Beam straight through it.

"Ngh… gah…" Bardock retched, his vision beginning to go white as blood oozed out of his body. Easily, now free of the Saiyan's hold, Frieza grasped him by the neck and hurled him back down towards the planet, where he would drift almost lifelessly back towards his home planet.

Though he had won the battle, Frieza still felt rage coursing through his body. 'Curse him… had I not found a way to escape, that little suicide stunt could've killed me! These Saiyans have grown strong enough; it's time I wiped them out!'

If he'd had any doubt about his decision before, this encounter solidified it. Raising his index finger once more, Frieza began to gather energy for his Supernova attack…

As he was sent freefalling back into Planet Vegeta's gravity, Bardock felt nothing but despair. He had failed to defeat Frieza; he had failed in saving the Saiyans' legacy. Anything and everything they had stood for would be ultimately destroyed in a matter of moments.

Darkness began to creep up the corners of his vision; his body began to falter for what appeared to be the final time. The pain, though it burned with the intensity of a thousand fires, seemed to soothe as his vision blurred.

Finally, it was simply too much for his body to take, and he faded into unconsciousness…

* * *

><p>"What… is this…?"<p>

_The sky was a beautiful emerald coloration; the seas were a majestic lime green. The two warriors stood on a blue plateau of land, staring each other down. The smaller of the two had pale white skin, with purple bio-gems on his cranium and his shoulders. The other was a humanoid, standing tall over his foe at about six feet of height. Their eyes remained firmly locked onto one another as the battle was ready to commence..._

* * *

><p>In that moment, he knew that the destruction of Planet Vegeta wouldn't be in vain. There was still a glimmer of hope for the Saiyans, one last beacon of hope for complete and utter revenge against Frieza.<p>

And his name was none other than…

"KAKAROT!" Bardock shouted in one last act of defiance before his body ultimately gave out on him, sending him to the next world just before the Supernova entered Planet Vegeta's atmosphere and swallowed his body whole, reducing it to dust particles not even a moment later.

Moments later, it sank into the planet's core, and Planet Vegeta exploded in one last flare of a blazing orange hue.

* * *

><p><em>Though Bardock's attempt at sacrificing himself to kill Frieza ultimately proved futile, it had granted the Saiyans several more minutes of their lives. Subsequently, it gave a space pod just a few more minutes to travel toward its destination, all while trying to burn its recorded message of utter destruction into its passenger's brain.<em>

_However, just because the space pod had escaped Vegeta's destruction did not mean it wasn't susceptible to attack. Frieza's Supernova would cause a chain reaction to occur within the immediate asteroid field; one of those asteroids, in fact, would crash into said spacecraft. _

_Normally, one would expect the pod to shatter at the force of an asteroid, but this was no ordinary space pod—this was one of the finest spaceships ever crafted by the Planet Trade Organization. Knowing how delicate a newborn was, the scientists would supply them with only the most reinforced steel they could develop._

_But that asteroid _did _have one lasting effect its collision with the durable attack ball caused the ship to endure a case of turbulence, spiraling about in a brutal manner and forcing the child to smash his head violently against the side of the metallic structure. Had it been any other child he'd have simply perished on the spot, but the powerful Saiyan bones within Kakarot's skull allowed him to endure through such agony._

_Though the pain within the child's skull was great, the ship's destination would not be deterred that day. Ever so fortunately for its owner, the ship seemed to have a mind of its own, activating an autopilot feature and righting itself completely in the span of 2.7 seconds._

_The crisis over, the ship saw fit to allow gravity to do its work from there; it had already breached into the Earth's gravitational field and saw no desire to exhaust excess fuel when the need was not present. Rather, the engines eased their strain right then and there, the white-hot trail behind the craft immediately compressing down to allow for minimal fuel to be used._

_As expected, Mother Earth began to pull the ship downward towards it, having no disregard for the child currently locked within the spacecraft. As its resistance grew weaker and weaker, Mother Earth's grasp began to grow stronger and stronger, unwilling to let go in the slightest. It didn't take long before the ship was traveling just as quickly as before, bulldozing through the atmosphere at a frightening pace. Of course, the attack ball hadn't taken into mind that the collision with the ground would surely kill the infant inside it_—_it simply let its plan continue uninterrupted, determined to escort its passenger there dead or alive. _

_And then, suddenly, its path was halted by one fateful collision with yet another metallic object_—_this one being a satellite, immediately crushing it in its path to travel down to Earth._

_However, the split-second it had taken to perform said action had derailed the attack ball's momentum, leading to baby Kakarot's spaceship losing its traction and immediately smashing into the white snow below, kicking up a spray of the freezing-cold substance all around it._

_It hadn't taken long for the impromptu gust of snow to subside, ultimately resulting in Kakarot's attack ball finally settling in the snowy setting. The heat provided by his craft would surely be enough to shield him for the time being from the perpetual cold, but it wasn't likely to sustain him for an extended duration of time._

_It was because of this that it was so fortunate for him that he'd landed right next to Muscle Tower, home to the feared and terrifying Red Ribbon Army. _

* * *

><p><em>Welcome, readers, to <em>Red Son! _I'm sure you can already guess where the inspiration of the title came from, but if you aren't, it's the title of a Superman comic that features Superman landing in Soviet Russia and fighting for Stalin and socialism instead of "truth, justice, and the American way."_

_On a side note, sorry for this being deleted before - there was a small mishap that's been rectified. I hope that, new readers or old, you'll enjoy this story just as much as before! I've put a lot more thought into the initial premise of the story, and I'm interested in seeing its reception. _

_While I was writing _Turbulence,_ I had considered actually using this premise_ _instead for the story - I'd been dying to try and introduce a story with a less-than-pure protagonist. While Kakarot would be undeniably a pure-hearted hero by being raised on Namek, being raised under Gero and the Red Ribbon Army would be sure to create something even more shocking and awesome. He'll get to interact with some of the franchise's long-forgotten characters and even get to skirmish with the Z-Fighters on occasion._

_I hadn't intended to write it out, but when I had suggested the premise to some of my friends on the _Neo Z Fighters _forum, they all really thought the idea could go somewhere and that it was worth my time to write it. A special thanks should go to _Ultimate Black Ace _for him suggesting the title _Red Son;_ it's an amazing parallel and really describes the difference between _RS_ and _Turbulence. _Additionally, Gero even resembles Stalin and Kakarot's surname as Goku is "son"_ - _I just couldn't pass it up!_

_Readers of _Turbulence _will know that the Bardock scene was rehashed, but it seemed vital that I keep the story as close to _Turbulence _as possible before the big split, which was the RRA's satellite intervening with Kakarot's path(credit to _FinalFlashX_ for helping me come up with that one!). One small change makes all the wiser!_

_I truly hope you enjoyed the first chapter of _Red Son_, and I hope to see you tune in again next chapter!_


	2. Chapter 2: Superpower

**Cultivation Saga - Part 1: Superpower **

_Age 737_

_To the world outside, Muscle Tower was nothing more than a large pillar that ascended into the sky, a tower of elegance and beauty. It was seen as a rather sophisticated spectacle to the residents of Jingle Village due to their rather simple lifestyle._

_Little did they know, however, that Muscle Tower was quite the opposite of a mere building. It was one of the several bases of the worldwide power, the Red Ribbon Army, which was operating deep within the shadows of the Earth._

_Commander Red was at the forefront of the army's tactics, slowly building up their forces by the trickling in of new soldiers and scientists and their vast improvements to the army as a whole. Within the span of a year, they'd gotten their hands on advanced weaponry, rather efficient technology, and multiple bases located all around the globe. Though their army was rather new, they'd made quite the amount of progress, becoming one of the largest global powers on Earth._

_However, despite their building power, they refrained from making their ambitions known for the time being. Commander Red, under the advisory of Staff Officer Black, was aware that the combined might of the Earth's army could potentially prevail over his faction; he wasn't about to take any chances. Black had insisted on letting the army build and develop further until their victory was all but assured._

_Their continuous recruitment of scientists and soldiers was slowly but steadily improving at a rapid rate, their army surely and slowly building up to become a true terror just waiting to be unleashed on the Earth's populace. If their power continued to grow at such a rate, then in a few years' time the army's sheer might could've been enough to crush the world's armed forces altogether._

_In the story you all know, the Red Ribbon's faction wouldn't grow powerful enough to conquer the world even with an additional thirteen years' time—in fact, their downfall would occur that very same year. The army's destruction wouldn't be to any mere mortal; no, they had grown far too powerful by this point to possibly meet their match to an average army scrounged together by King Furry ._

_The one behind their early demise was none other than the warrior known as Son Goku, the Earth's eventual hero and unofficial protector of the universe. He would cut through their forces like a scissor would paper, tearing through their most powerful fighters with relative ease. As such, the army would never see their goal of world domination out, their only hope residing in one last man that had somehow escaped the carnage… Dr. Gero, lead scientist of the Red Ribbon Army._

_But the forces of Son Goku and friends would be too much to overcome even with Gero's greatest weapons, known as the androids. Though Goku himself was unable to combat his ultimate project in Cell, his son would take up the mantle and ultimately vaporize the bio-android into nothingness, effectively ridding the world of any trace or remnant of the Red Ribbon Army._

_Due to the direct influence and correlation that the Son family had with the Red Ribbon Army's defeat, it is quite safe to say that had Goku never opposed their faction, they would've had a much greater chance at conquering the world. But what of a world where Goku wasn't against the army or the one to topple their forces… but their most powerful asset?_

_This is the story of a should've-been hero becoming the Earth's most dangerous enemy, all due to one case of turbulence and the mere rotation of the blue planet itself. This is the story of a scientist who raised the child as his own instead of plotting his ultimate destruction. This is the story of a world where two of the Earth's greatest forces have allied together due to sheer circumstance._

_But above all else, this is the story of Mother Earth and the radical divergences this tale takes from another…_

_...all due to the power of the Red Ribbon Army's red son._

* * *

><p>Amidst the raucous conversation and bustling activity commencing within Muscle Tower, one man found himself isolated within the tower's laboratories diligently toiling away on his personal computer. Surrounded by the dim lighting and the garnet-colored walls of his study, the doctor furiously clicked and clacked away on a keyboard. His lunch break had come, and once again, he'd planned to forsake eating food during this hour in favor of his own personal studies. It'd always been foolish to him that his fellow cohorts would go ahead and waste what could be valuable, productive time in favor of repeating a process that they would inevitably be doing again before the day was through.<p>

His stomach growled again, indicating that it desired nourishment, but the scientist ignored it in favor of typing in one last password that would lead him to his private documents. With a brief input of numbers and letters, he was into said folder.

The folder's title was "Android Drafts," and its owner was none other than the brilliant Dr. Gero. The scientist, terribly acute of all the negative biological functions that hindered and slowed the human body with age, had entertained the thought of utilizing technology to enhance the Red Ribbon Army's soldiers. It'd been a tiresome and grueling project for certain, but he hadn't even scratched the surface of what he knew its capabilities truly were. Unfortunately, the good doctor knew that it would also require a great deal of time, and that it'd likely be a project that he'd work on for years and years on end.

But he'd accepted this. As a scientist, he'd already come to terms with the fact that the most rewarding projects took their fair share of time, and that it would take him thousands – perhaps even millions – of words and analyses before he could realize its full potential.

Dr. Gero suddenly stopped typing and took a sip from his Red Ribbon Army mug, letting the cool taste of water envelop his throat as he sighed. Though he knew he could go without eating during his lunch break, water was an absolute necessity—he wasn't exactly looking to dehydrate himself before his greatest project was fully realized.

Just as he'd set his mug down, ready to begin working yet again, a soldier – from the looks of his tired facial expression, most likely one of the newer ones – ran into his open office and panted, "D-Dr. Gero, Commander Red is requesting you, sir!"

Though ordinarily the doctor would be infuriated at a soldier barging into his study without permission, hearing that Commander Red wanted him flipped that perspective right on its head. Composing himself so that any trace of his anger wouldn't be detected within his voice, Gero replied, "That's interesting. Why didn't he just use the intercom button to contact me?"

"He's not in his office, sir," the soldier swiftly replied. "Commander Red is on his way back up there with a few guards after finding something; he said he wanted you there before anything else happened."

Dr. Gero made sure to save his files appropriately before he promptly closed his laptop. Standing up, he nodded to the soldier. "Very well, then. I'll report to his office immediately."

And so he did, walking briskly through the cafeteria and toward the elevator. He systematically pressed the button and waited for the elevator shaft to arrive, his mind preoccupied with whatever could lie ahead. He didn't know whether to expect termination or a promotion—or anything in between.

Thankfully for the good doctor's sanity, he would not have to wait much longer. Immediately after the elevator door opening, he walked straight into Commander Red's office, the guards already having opened the door for him. He paid them no heed, nor did he spare more than a glance to Staff Officer Black, being more concerned with what could have piqued the commander's interest to the point where he would call upon the doctor's services.

What he found was not what he was expecting. It was neither a promotion nor a termination, nor was it anything in between.

It was an infant. A crying, helpless, little infant who was being hoisted up by what appeared to be a furry tail.

Gero couldn't take his eyes off the sight. To see what appeared to be a humanoid infant with a tail was one thing, but the fact that he had been recovered by the Red Ribbon Army was another.

"I expect you're as surprised by this little here kid as we are, Gero?" Commander Red dryly asked, using his free hand to stick a new cigar into his mouth. "'Cause it ain't every day that we come across somethin' like this."

"Of… of course, Commander," Gero responded, half-tempted to rub his eyes to see if the sight before him was real. He had many an ambitious project drawn up in his mind, some seeming nigh impossible, but this made his aspirations seem trivial in comparison. "I just have to ask… where did you find him?"

"Kid was not even a few feet from here in a small little pod," Red answered. "Wasn't hard for a soldier to notice the huge crater and snatch him up. We got lucky that he didn't come in and destroy our entire base; that would've been a problem."

"I take it that you didn't request for me to come in just to tell me a story," Gero knowingly responded, eyes locked onto the child. "So what is it that you want me to do with him?"

"I thought it over for a good hour or two, but the fact that this kid shows up in some foreign-lookin' ship and with a _goddamn tail… _it's a little unnerving. So I called you in because I wanted you to run some tests on the boy, maybe find out where he's from and what's his deal. Think you're up to that?"

"It should take me no more than two hours at the most, Commander," swiftly answered Gero with a small salute. "I'd also like to take a look at the ship when I have the time, if that's all right."

"Hmmm… well, the thing isn't that large, so I'd be willing to let you do your science stuff on there if you had to." Red exhaled a fresh gust of smoke from his cigar. "Honestly, you can have as much time as you need to look into this kid. People have been wondering if aliens exist, and we might just have found the first one."

"Understood. I'll get started and report back to you as soon as I have enough information."

"Very well, Gero. You're dismissed."

Upon his leaving and the guards slamming the doors shut, Staff Officer Black turned to the commander. "I take it you have greater interest in this child than him being a mere alien."

"You know me, Black," Red smirked deviously. "I've got a gut feeling he could be just the thing our army needs. I don't know what he'll bring to the table… but I know one thing: something good just fell into our laps."

* * *

><p>"It doesn't make sense.<p>

"None of this makes any sense."

Doctor Gero stared at the results of the tests on his computer so intensely he could've bore a hole straight through it. The grand bulk of his genetic testing seemed to amount to the fact that this child was indeed a human, yet there were a few genes here and there that suggested otherwise.

"Tail genes… my goodness." He looked over at the now sleeping child wrapped up in a blanket, snoring softly. "You really are something else, aren't you?"

"Something else indeed."

Gero whirled around to see Commander Red enter his study, wearing an ever-confident smirk. "Sorry, I got a little excited to hear the news about our newest find. So, mind elaboratin' on what you were sayin' there?"

"Absolutely, Commander," Gero hastily replied, turning back to his computer and inputting in a few commands. "As you can see here, I've compared his DNA with that of a regular human infant's. For the most part they appear the same, aside from a few genes here," he highlighted the genes in question, "as well as here. You can clearly see that his blood has practically double the amount of adrenaline that the average human infant's does, not to mention that his organs just appear stronger in general. His body is almost like a natural steroid, to be honest."

"Right. And?"

Gero looked over his shoulder at the commander, who was waiting expectantly for a more definitive conclusion. "I would have normally written this child off as a mutation if you hadn't informed me of his coming here in a spaceship. But when you throw that into the equation, the answer is clear…

"...he is an alien."

Silence.

Then, laughter.

"I knew it!" Commander Red cackled, throwing his head back. "I knew that this kid would be worth something!"

"I would definitely say as much, Commander," Gero acknowledged, turning back to his computer. "If you'll excuse me, I just need to save this comparative document. During later study of the child, I'll reference it and see what else I can learn about him."

Commander Red, his chorus of laughter finally settling down, found it within him to shake his head. "Heh… hah… yeah, that won't be necessary, Gero. Kid won't be alive for much longer, anyway."

"And just why not?" Gero raised an eyebrow. "It would be foolish to kill him. We know that he is an alien and clearly not like any of us; shouldn't we be using that to our advantage?"

Red frowned. "Think you're missing my point, Gero. This kid's an alien. Who knows if we'll be able to control him as he grows up?" He clasped his hands together. "What I'm thinking is that we shred this kid apart and then just inject his DNA into some of our most trusted soldiers. We'd have control of them and they'd be loyal to the Red Ribbon Army's goals, which makes more sense than taking a gamble on this kid."

"With all due respect, Commander, I'd have to disagree, " Gero cut in hastily. "According to my research, this child is, despite the slight differences in DNA, mostly human. It stands to reason that we can condition him to be the weapon we want him to be. Besides… would you really trust some of our soldiers being stronger than the collective army as a whole?"

"...You've got a good head, Gero. I'm glad I kept you around." Red smiled. "All right then. We'll keep him around for now, but if he proves to be rebellious then we'll have to consider… other paths."

"I understand, Commander."

"So, that reminds me… what exactly were you working on right now, Gero?" Red cupped his chin. "I can't exactly remember."

"You wanted me to take a look into the design of some of our tanks and see if I couldn't get them a little more mobile," Gero smiled. "And I have some good news on that front, if you'd like to hear it. You see—"

"Well, scrap all that. This kid's your new project for a while." Red smiled. "I like what you've brought me today, Gero. I'm confident you're going to help us develop this kid into even more of a weapon in the future." He suddenly turned on his heel and made his way to the door. "I'll be heading back up to my office now. If you find anything else you want to share about this kid, I'm all ears."

"Very well then. I'll be sure to let you know of any new developments as I find them."

SLAM!

As the door shut, Gero's eye flicked toward the child, though it was not necessarily the child that he was focused on. Just next to his sleeping form was a picture… of him.

His red hair stood out even to this day, his blue eyes shining with life even in the encapsulated form of a photo.

'You were the only one I'd trust with such power, Cuprite. But now that you're no longer with us… I cannot take any risks. Not until my plans are complete.

'As for the rest of the world… let them fear.

'In time, there will be one superpower standing head and shoulders above the rest.'

* * *

><p><em>Don't blink.<em>

_This is not an illusion._

Red Son _is back, baby! After one long year without an update and seeing its big brother, _Turbulence_, gain all my attention, this fic is back and here to stay… with a few minor things, of course._

_Whereas before I had been a little too ambitious and planned to put heavy detail into two epics, that is no longer the case. See, _Red Son _was always meant to be a little 'vacation' from _Turbulence _- something that I would write whenever I felt stuck with my main project. It still technically is that, to a degree, but its relaunch will occur in a different manner. _

_For the bulk of 2014, I realized that putting so much time and energy into two epic tales would be a little too much. _Turbulence_ has been and will be continued to be micromanaged to the letter, whether it be in character development or plot details. This fic… is going to be a bit looser. A bit more fun. There's a little less emphasis on character development(although knowing me, you should expect a plentiful amount anyway) and more on just plain fun with the plot. I'm also going to be taking risks with the story that I wouldn't have done if this was my only project. I can't say what those are, of course, but let's just say that I don't like repeating concepts in two different fanfictions. I only let myself revive this story when I was sure I could manage to do something more unique with the plot._

_That brings me to this chapter. First and foremost, a huge thanks has to go out to _Supersaiyaninfinitygohan _for his support in bringing this story back to life. I genuinely didn't see this story ever being revived, but his general interest in the story and a lengthy conversation on New Year's Day really helped me find the drive to tell it again. I also consulted him for general help with everything following the first scene because, so help me, I was stuck on that. Big time. Without his help, it wouldn't have been finished(even if it was finished almost four months after the fact, which I attest to having to buckle down on coursework. I will be writing more consistently though). To that extent, sorry if this chapter felt rushed or rusty; as I mentioned, it's literally been a year and I just wanted to bang out what I could, given that this was a simple transitory chapter and nothing more._

_Speaking of the plot, I would like to say here and now that I will be remedying a few mistakes that I believe I made with _Turbulence_. There is going to be a greater focus on the Dragon Ball arc(though not enough to detract from the main story) and also allow me to build upon more relationships and all the like. Working with only one plotline is going to make things so much easier, I have to say._

_Finally, if you've got any questions or the like, feel free to speak up - you may just be able to get me thinking for the future like Infinity managed to do. And, as always, I plan to answer any and all questions I can in general about the story, so please feel free to review._

_I appreciate those of you who've stuck with me in _Turbulence _and those of you who've decided to pick this back up. I can only hope that you'll continue to do so throughout the remainder of this story._


	3. Chapter 3: What Lies Ahead

**Dragon Ball Saga - Part 1: What Lies Ahead**

"_His level of progression is unheard of. He soaks up anything and everything we teach him and executes it almost flawlessly. It's an enigma… but that is what I have come to expect of the boy. His power is incredible, perhaps only matched by that of some of Earth's legendary martial artists, but in time he will manage to eclipse them in brute might as well. _

_By that point, we may have nothing left to teach the boy..."_

_- Dr. Gero, Age 748_

* * *

><p><em>Age 749<em>

"C'mon, you weaklings! That all you punk-ass sorry excuses for men got in the tank?"

Many a brow was plastered with sweat as a bevy of Red Ribbon Army soldiers struggled to continue their training regimen, bones practically threatening to be dislocated as they were forced to propel their owners up and down.

"D-Dammit… we're doin' all we can…" muttered a soldier under his breath, thankfully having gone unnoticed by the sergeant. "Not our fault that the brat is just a freak of nature…"

"Sorry, what?"

The soldier looked up and to his right, seeing the shadow of perhaps the second most intimidating figure in the army to date. Though he was by no means tall, his presence was practically commanding of attention. He practically let out a yelp before his body collapsed, but even so that did not stop him from groveling at his feet.

"I'm sorry, Kakarot, I didn't mean anything of what I just said! Please forgive me!" he whimpered, tears threatening to escape his eyes.

"Umm… okay then," Kakarot responded, scratching at his head. "I was just asking what you said. I didn't get it was all."

"Kakarot!"

The loud bark of the sergeant rang through Kakarot's ears, immediately prompting him to whirl around and salute him. "Yes, Sergeant Green?"

"Don't waste your time with these sons of bitches. You finished the exercise regimen way before any of 'em." Green smirked as he folded his arms. "Might have to make you an exclusive regimen at this point. None of 'em can even keep up with you."

"Wow, you mean it?!" Kakarot childishly exclaimed. The thought of getting to buffer his training was one that was all too exciting. "Let's do it! I wanna work at least twice as hard as these guys!"

"Heh! Good to see at least _someone _around here is willing to get themselves roughed up!" Green cackled heartily. "I like your enthusiasm, Kakarot. Gimme a week and I'll have something that'll get your blood pumping in no time."

"All right!" Kakarot threw a fist up in the air. "This is gonna be awesome!"

BZZZZT!

Kakarot's eyes immediately widened with anticipation.

"_Sergeant Green, it is now noon on the dot," _crackled a voice over the sergeant's walkie-talkie. _"As per usual, lunch is now waiting to be served at your discretion."_

"Yay!" the child squealed, hardly able to contain his excitement. As if on cue, his stomach let out a guttural growl. He sheepishly smiled. "So what's for lunch today, Sergeant Green?"

Green chuckled. "Well, you can go find out for yourself, Kakarot. You're dismissed."

The boy certainly didn't need to be told twice. He immediately bolted out of the training facility and sped off toward the kitchen faster than Green could even blink. Laughing, he shook his head and closed his eyes. "Kid's really got speed on him… he's gonna be a fine weapon one day if he isn't one already.

"Now as for _you _fatasses, you're not getting lunch for another hour at this pissant rate!" he suddenly barked, returning to the merciless nature he'd founded himself on. "Give me another hundred! You've got two minutes to prove to me why I shouldn't kick your sorry behinds out of this army!"

* * *

><p>Ordinarily, an unidentifiable figure rocketing through Muscle Tower's hallways at breakneck speed would prompt an immediate reaction from the army's well-trained forces.<p>

However, when the sight was accompanied by that of a chorus of impish laughter, it was immediately dismissed.

Everyone was aware of Kakarot and his reckless nature; he would often charge into things before he could even process what they were. His hyperactive tendencies were kind of hard to ignore when they had been responsible for breaking at least five or six soldiers' ribcages upon an unfortunate collision with the alien child.

As a result, it stood to reason that, upon hearing that lunch was being served, any soldier in the direct pathway to the cafeteria immediately flung themselves to the side in order to ensure their own safety.

ZZZZZZOOOOOM!

Wagging his tail eagerly like a dog, his tongue hanging out, Kakarot looked up at the chef with a bright and longing store. "Whadja make today, Chef Orange?"

The short, stout cook let a ghost of a smile show. Despite the fact that the young child asked the same question with each passing day, the sheer innocence in his eyes was contagious. "Today, Kakarot, I've prepared you an assortment of various pastas and noodles. If you take a seat at your table, I will have it delivered to you within two minutes."

Faster than his eye could follow, the boy had zipped away from the cut-out window and made his way toward his personalized table, bedecked with a fine cloth and expensive china. As the chef approached him with the plates, he could see Kakarot licking his lips eagerly.

"Lunch is served," Orange announced aloud, carefully beginning to place the plates down onto the table. Before he had even finished setting the second plate down, Kakarot had already dug into the first one, his face already smeared with butter and grease from the fine lunch he'd been served. 'Hmph… for someone so powerful, he surely is simple.'

Little did he know, there was another peering into the cafeteria that shared those exact same sentiments.

* * *

><p>"Still exhibiting childish behavior… feels no proper drive for anything bar training and eating…" Gero muttered to himself as he scrawled messily onto his notepad, feeling more and more frustration coursing through his veins with each passing moment. "Ugh. You would think that at least <em>something <em>within his behavior would change over the last year."

He suddenly felt a light tap on his shoulder, and he immediately whirled around and hissed in surprise. "Gah! Colonel Violet, don't you sneak up on me like that!"

Violet nonchalantly shrugged. "You get so wrapped up in your little notetaking that you pretty much block out the entire world around you. You probably wouldn't notice if a gunshot went off right now, Doctor."

"Grgh… what do you want?" Gero bitterly replied. If there was one thing he didn't like, it was being disconnected from his studies. "Spit it out, too; I have research to conduct."

The woman snickered. "Yeah… 'research...' following a kid around all day without him even knowing it sure sounds like it, pal." Upon him snarling, she broke out into full-on laughter. "Like, really, isn't that some sort of pedophilia?"

"My interest in the boy is fully scientifical. I am _not _General Blue, woman," Gero shot back. "Besides, you should thank me. The more I am able to find out about the boy, the better for the army as a whole. Our plans can move forward as soon as we condition him to be the weapon we know he can be."

"Okay, sure." Violet rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Gero, do you really think that he's going to change much more than this? Keeping him cooped up in this tower is only going to let him grow used to this kind of easy life. He's never been challenged to make something better of himself in anything but training. You can't build the ultimate weapon that way, can you?"

"...My word…" Gero dropped his pencil in astoundment, silently kicking himself. "...You're right, Violet. If only I'd thought of such a thing sooner…"

She cockily smiled and leaned against the wall. "You know, Gero, you have a big brain on you. Shame that it somehow couldn't find any room for some common sense."

BRRRING!

Gero looked down at his wristwatch, his eyes agape with anticipation. For several brief moments, he peered down at it and squinted his eyes. "Let's see here… one hundred percent… ninety-four percent… seventy-two percent… excellent."

As he looked back to Violet, staring at him in befuddlement, he had half a mind to rain down a hailstorm of curses for her previous remarks. But he was in too much of a good mood at the moment to let it be spoiled by some uppity woman who believed she was his superior. "We'll have to see about that, Colonel." He gave her a laugh before he whirled around and began to walk toward his office, scribbling on his notepad all the while.

Violet frowned at him as he was walking away. 'Guy's got some gray hair starting to show. What with that, the wrinkles, and that crazy long hair, he's really letting himself go. Whatever he's doing, he's definitely killing himself over it.'

* * *

><p>The warm glow of the sun kissed the breaking horizon gently as it shone brightly in the sky, watching down on the Earth below as Son Gohan made his way up the mountainside towards the cabin which he called home. Just as he made it to the top and unlocked the door to his cabin, a loud noise startled him, nearly forcing him to drop the deceased fish in his hands.<p>

'Is that… a car?' thought Gohan as it drew closer and closer, kicking up asphalt and debris as it traveled on its path with a mighty roar. 'I thought nobody lived around these parts, save for the animals and myself—just what is this person doing here?'

As the car drew closer and closer, tearing up the road it traveled upon with a mighty roar, it soon began clear that its destination was his cabin – there was nowhere else that this winding road would lead to.

Suddenly, he could make out more details—it seemed a young, rather pretty girl was the one behind the wheel, and seemed to have a genuine smile on her face.

'She doesn't seem malicious, that's for sure...' Gohan thought as he walked closer to the incoming vehicle, ready to stop the girl in her tracks if need be. '…but I can't let down my guard when the possibility still exists of her being a robber.'

Suddenly, the car came to an abrupt halt and the driver hopped out, revealing the girl's full figure. She appeared to have a gun on her person, but she didn't seem to have any intentions of attacking at all—more likely than not, she would've tried to sneak attack him if she dared to try anything.

"Hello, sir," she began politely, looking him directly in the eyes. "It might be a bit weird that a city girl like me is roaming around here…" She noticed his gaze had been drawn to her gun, and she frowned, realizing that he was trying to test her intentions.

"Oh, this?" she asked, indicating to her weapon. "Sorry, I've been using that in case of wildlife. As you can tell, I'm not exactly strong enough to fend them off."

"Please, don't worry about your gun—I assure you that's not why I'm so concerned. It just seems suspicious that you would be out here on your own if not to rob someone." Gohan relaxed his body, now confident in the fact that this girl meant no harm to him. "Now then, why exactly are you here?"

The girl seemed to mull over something for a moment – most likely debating whether or not to trust him – but she soon answered him. "I was hoping that I could take your Dragon Ball from you, actually." She pulled out what appeared to be a small, golden-orange sphere that shined brightly even in the clear sky. "If you collect all seven of these things, legend has it that you can get any wish you want!"

"So what exactly _do _you want to get out of this? Money? Fame?" Gohan asked. "I'm sorry, but you must understand that this doesn't exactly sound all too normal to me. I believe your story, but I don't know if I can trust you with my Dragon Ball yet." He had no problems with relinquishing the sphere; what mattered was what she planned to wish for.

"Well… to be honest…" she hung her head down and blushed wildly. "I want to wish for the perfect boyfriend."

Gohan chuckled to himself, realizing that she was indeed just a city girl with no real intentions of doing harm. "Well… if your wish is as simple as that and one that doesn't do any real harm to the world, I suppose I can give you the sphere on one condition."

"And that would be?" She looked back up at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"I wish to accompany you on your trip. You'll surely need someone to protect you from harm; after all, you can't be the only one who's been scouting for these spheres."

The girl frowned, apparently not pleased with his offer. "Um… well, not to be rude, but you don't exactly look like you're in perfect fighting condition."

To this, Gohan smirked slightly and used a fraction of his speed to dash behind her and hop into her car; from there, he started the car up before returning to his previous position in front of Bulma all within the span of a few seconds.

She hadn't caught even the slightest glimpse of him.

"D-Did you just…?" she stammered, unable to comprehend how he had such speed at his disposal. "I-I guess I could use your help after all…"

"I apologize if I frightened you," chuckled Gohan, "but I only wanted to show you the very real threat of what a trained fighter can do. I'm most likely not the only human out there with speed like that, and I'd rather you not get hurt because you didn't have anyone to back you up."

Turning back to the direction of his cabin, Gohan smiled and held out his hand toward it. "Now then… I do have lunch almost prepared. Would you care to join me and fill me in on what exactly the Dragon Balls are?"

"S-Sure," she responded, dusting off her outfit before extending her hand. "I don't know if I ever said it, but my name's Bulma Briefs."

"Son Gohan," he responded as the two began to walk towards the cabin, and subsequently, the beginning of their journey.

* * *

><p>Red Son's <em>third chapter is now in the books, and I am 100% sure that I've managed to troll a good bulk of this story's audience with it. In no way could anyone ever imagine that I would have Kakarot as this innocent child who is being, to put it mildly, spoiled by the RRA. I've made it no secret that this story is destined to be a parallel of <em>Turbulence, _however, and given the general premise of this story you would have to assume that would change soon. The only question is how I could go about such a one-eighty change. But don't fear… you'll have your answers soon. _

_Okay, now onto this chapter: I've been at a point in my writing(not just in this fic) where everything I touch just turns to a transitory chapter. That said, we're going to start next chapter and hit the ground running from thereforth. I have no plans to airbrush over the DB arc like I did in _Turbulence, _but I did feel that there needed to be a chapter where I threw in the basics of how Kakarot's life was at the moment(as it will help develop his character later on) and the basic beginnings of Bulma and Gohan's journey. I do not plan into going into great detail of Bulma and Gohan's plot yet(which means more airtime for our protagonist, Kakarot), although you should keep in mind that they do, indeed, exist. I can't say anything more than this for fear of spoiling the story._

_As always, if you have questions, comments, or anything of the like, please do review. I say this not because I want to get the statistics up for this story, but just to see what you're all thinking. I'm mainly happy writing for myself nowadays and don't really have a problem with not uploading, but at the same time it'd be nice to know what people expect, what people want to see, what people think we're _going _to see, etc._

**-nightmaster000: Any plans for who to pair Goku with in this story?**

Given Kakarot's current ties to the Red Ribbon Army, any true pairings seem rather… unlikely for now. That said, it's hardly as if I'm going to deprive this universe of another Saiyan child or two.

**-SuperSaiyanPrince: Great chapter, it's great that this story is being continued. I'm very interested to see just how Gero will raise Goku. It was interesting seeing Gero thinking about his son. Can't wait to see more**

Glad people caught that little nugget. I knew that the instant I decided to revive this story that I would have to incorporate the "new canon" that good 'ol Tori-bot has provided us(that being Lapis, Lazuli, and Gero's son being the basis for 16). However, I needed a good name for him, so I went with the mineral "Cuprite" as a reference to 16's red hair.


	4. Chapter 4: Exodus

**Dragon Ball Saga - Part 2: Exodus**

"_Kakarot's tail is something I've tried to justify to myself for years now. It seems to serve as a way of draining his power should I decide to grab it, but other than that I see no use for it. The message that we found recorded in his ship did little in the way of a proper explanation. The full moon, it claims, will show his true power… but I do not want to risk relying on the lunar cycle to achieve his full potential. Perhaps, in time, I will create a study on that transformation. But now is not the time. There's already too much we don't know about the boy."_

_-Dr .Gero, Age 745_

* * *

><p>Deep in the night, when Muscle Tower had powered down for the evening, most of the Red Ribbon Army had found themselves sleeping soundly.<p>

That was, except for two.

These secret meetings had been going on for weeks now, high in Commander Red's office after hours. Doctor Gero would bring up his notebook with each passing night and give his commander the scoop on their mysterious weapon. It worked well for them both, seeing as how Gero practically never caught shut-eye anyway. Red knew he was too much of a workaholic to bother with six to eight hours of inproductivity. It didn't suit him.

That said, he could tell when one of his employees was overworking themselves to the bone. The tremendous bags under the good doctor's eyes and his scrawly handwriting, uncharacteristic of him, told him everything.

Red peered over his desk at the fatigued scientist, shaking his head. "You ever give yourself a moment to sleep, Gero? You practically look like you're gonna keel over any second."

Forcing his bloodshot eyes open, the good doctor vehemently shook his head. "There will be plenty of time to rest when the Red Ribbon Army is in charge of this world," he stubbornly replied, fighting back the urge to let out an unprofessional yawn. "Now… mmmrgh… let's talk about the boy."

"If you say so," said Red, sipping on his coffee. "You sure you don't want any of this, by the way?" he asked, gesturing to the extra mug he'd prepared. "Helps me stay up for a good extra hour or two."

"It will be unnecessary, thank you," Gero politely replied, rolling his neck so as to not let it droop down in slumber.

"All right, doc, suit yourself…" came Red's reply, setting the mug down on his Red Ribbon coaster. "Anyway… onto the real topic of conversation. I understand you had a recent talk with Colonel Violet that had you practically dying to talk to me sooner."

"That is correct," Gero affirmed. "Ever since I spoke to her, I've been beginning to wonder if we've been handling Kakarot's development the right way."

"How so?" Commander Red asked, lifting a brow in interest. "He's easily stronger than our average human, and he could disarm someone if ever he was caught in a dangerous situation. He can't crush an army on his own quite yet, but that will come with time."

"How do I put this, Commander…?" Gero pursed his lips for a brief moment, racking his knowledgeable brain for the right words to say. "It's not his power that I am concerned with. It's his… personality."

"Is that right?" Red didn't want to admit it, but he did have a soft spot for the boy. There was something so innocent, so _pure _about how his secret weapon wanted to make his commander proud by conquering the world that he practically wished he'd never grow up. "How so?"

"You know as well as I do that his goals are in line with ours," Gero began, exhaling loudly. "Our conditioning of the boy was spot-on with that one. However, he just lacks that.. ambition, I think, to carry it out." He made a sloppy circle around a specific portion of his notes. "You'll see here that, over the past year, I've conducted a study on the boy's activities from afar. He doesn't seem truly motivated to do something other than training and eating, which I suspect is a typical characteristic of his species. I had hopes that, since he is but a child, we would be able to twist that love of fighting into conquering for the Red Ribbon Army's advances. As of now, however, I don't think he's truly ready to be a weapon."

Red mulled this information over for a few seconds, letting out a small hum as he did so. "Certainly, I can see where you're coming from, Gero. But while I do love hearing your research findings, I also need results. Remember, I only let you get away with actually raising the boy because I had immense faith in your work; if you can't give me a good way of fixing this situation, then I'm gonna need to find someone who can."

Gero blanched. Though the good doctor had certainly built up a good rapport with Commander Red over the years, he knew that it only took one slip-up in order for Red to approve his meeting with death. He'd seen it several times over the years, and he was not about to join those who'd seen Red's ire in the afterlife. "Fortunately, I do have an idea." Red nodded toward him, eagerly waiting for more. "Kakarot has grown too used to Muscle Tower. It doesn't help that you've repositioned the army's headquarters here _just _so you could be up to date on the boy's progression."

"Are you saying that was a bad move, Gero?" Red sternly asked, lifting his eyebrow.

Even in his fatigued state, Doctor Gero knew just how to reply to the commander. "No, not at all, Commander. However, it does mean that he's grown complacent here. I don't believe that we will be able to mold his personality any further if we choose to keep him isolated from the outside world."

"And I assume you have a plan for this, Gero?"

Gero smiled sinisterly. "When have I not, Commander?"

* * *

><p>On a typical morning, one couldn't drag Kakarot out of bed any earlier than ten in the morning.<p>

Unfortunately for Kakarot, today would be anything but typical for him.

"Time to get up, kid!"

"H-Hey.. it's too early…" Kakarot whined, pulling his covers over his head. Indeed, he was far from used to being woken up so early in the morning. "J-Just gimme another few hours to sleep, m'kay…?"

"Not today," stubbornly replied the voice. As his consciousness began to reconnect with reality more and more, Kakarot could make out the familiar, feminine voice of Colonel Violet. She practically threw his sheets off of him before looking straight into his delirious eyes. "Commander Red wants to see you in his office, pronto. You'd better get up there before he gets mad."

Kakarot's eyes burst open. Though he was far from threatened by the colonel's tone, he was certainly intrigued by the fact that the head honcho of the Red Ribbon Army was looking for him. He usually got to say hello to him every now and then, but having been called up so early in the morning meant there was something grand in store. That was how he saw it, at least.

In a flash, he'd gotten himself dressed up in his tan overshirt and blue pants before speeding out the door with no disregard for the colonel, who just looked toward the door with a serious mien. 'I wonder if Gero took what I said a little too far… it wouldn't be the first time, after all.'

"Commander Red! Commander Red!" Kakarot had half a mind to bang on the door as loud as he could, but thankfully for the door's continued stability it had been opened just in time for the anomaly to dart in and take a seat abreast his desk. Far from exhausted, he looked toward the commander with adrenaline-filled eyes. "So what's the deal, Commander? You never call me up here so early!" He heard a throat being cleared from next to him, and he turned to see Doctor Gero, who offered an awkward nod of acknowledgement. "Oh, hi doc, what's goin' on?"

"To begin, Kakarot," Red bluntly spoke, cutting off the boy's jubilant chatter, "you're now at the age where we need to start considering the future. You're growing older with each passing day, and soon enough this army will be counting on you to lead it into our goal of world domination."

"If I may, Commander?" Gero politely interrupted. Red nodded. "Your responsibilities from henceforth are going to only become more important. The times of you just frolicking around and doing as you please are over. They were tolerable in your young age, but as you are our primary weapon, I expect nothing short of efficiency from now on."

"Efficiency?" Kakarot raised a curious eyebrow. "What's that mean?"

Both Gero and Red shared a collective look of befuddlement before they, in unison, sweatdropped.

"Never mind that. Try looking at it this way, boy: you're going to be undergoing a whole new type of training." Upon seeing the boy cheer excitedly, Gero had to hide back a snarl of discontent. 'I'll have to add a basic education to our plans for this boy… if he doesn't wisen up from this, we could have an idiot for a weapon on our hands…'

When Kakarot had finally decided to settle down(although his tail would refuse to cease wiggling in excitement), he looked between both the commander and the doctor eagerly. "So what kind of training is it?"

Commander Red pulled out one of his famous cigars, lighting it within a heartbeat. 'I don't like a smoke so early in the morning, but dammit, this kid's makin' me need one…' He looked toward Kakarot with a glint in his eye, trying to hide his irritation toward the child. "Your training isn't going to be about punching and kicking in the physical sense. Well… it will be, but anyway…"

"C'mon, spill it already!" Kakarot squealed. "I can barely wait!"

Gero shot a look toward the commander, who, through an exasperated sigh, acquiesced control over the situation. "You will be expected to, with directions from a map, find your way to a place known as Kame Island. There, you will find an elderly man who goes by the name of Roshi."

"Is this Master Roshi strong?" Kakarot innocently asked. "Like, really strong?"

Resisting the urge to lose his cool, Gero instead lightly exhaled. "Yes, Kakarot. He is really strong. Strong enough, in fact, to easily defeat you."

"Wow! That sounds awesome!" the alien boy exclaimed. "I can't wait to take him head-on!"

"No. You will _not _do that, boy." Gero's cold stare, for once, actually had the boy sit quietly. "As it stands, he would be able to kill you. Especially if you somehow managed to reveal that you were from the Red Ribbon Army… and the further impacts that would cause… my word, I don't even want to think about it." He could see it already: the world's strongest fighters all being positioned against the Red Ribbon before they were fully prepared. It was a nightmare he would not want to live out.

"So, to recap what the good doctor was saying, Kakarot," interjected Red quickly. "You're going to meet Master Roshi on Kame Island. A world map will be provided for you, as will be a week's worth of food and drink—to your standards, of course." He cringed at remembering the few times he'd cast his eyes upon the boy devouring his meals, practically feeling the urge to expunge his afterward. "You'll be expected to find the island on your own and find a way to become his pupil."

"What kind of price does he ask for to train somebody?" piped up the anomaly, raising his hand childishly. "Do I have to give him some food or something?"

'A valid question, I'll give him that,' Gero thought to himself, eyeing the boy. 'Perhaps he isn't as stupid as I gave him credit for… but, to that end, he certainly isn't bright.'

"We don't know Roshi personally, kid," Red truthfully admitted, letting out another puff of smoke, "so we can't tell ya what he's gonna ask for. But if I'm gonna be honest, I think that once he sees your existing powers, he'll take an interest in you the same way we have."

"That's when you're going to learn an important tactic, Kakarot: manipulation." Gero could see the confusion on the child's face already. "To explain, manipulation is leading someone to believe something when you yourself know that it is not true. You are going to lead Roshi to believe that you want to be the strongest fighter of all-time, and that kind of innocence will likely have him take you under his wing. In reality, you're going to be learning from him so that you _can _become stronger, but you will be doing it for the betterment of the Red Ribbon Army."

"Now remember, Kakarot," Red leaned above his desk to stare directly into the boy's eyes. He waited until he was sure that the spiky-haired warrior was paying full attention. "You are _not _to let him know that you are with the Red Ribbon Army. To this end, we're going to provide you with a different set of clothing—one without our symbol on it. We cannot risk your existence being made aware of until you have the power to dismantle any threat that comes your way."

"Okay… but I still don't get what I have to do from there." Kakarot shook his head. "So you want me to go to this Roshi guy and get stronger, but then what do I do?"

"To spell this out for you, you're going to wait until you're sure you can eliminate him. We are more than willing to bide our time until you can confirm to be his superior in power." Gero smiled deviously. "Master Roshi is one of, if not the greatest martial artists of all-time. Surpassing and murdering him likely means that you will be strong enough to lead our army in conquering this world."

"Um… okay…" Kakarot paled. It was only now that he was beginning to realize the importance of this mission. This was going to be what made him a true warrior—a true weapon. He knew he had to succeed. With that in mind, all psyched up, he nodded and grinned. "I'll do it!"

Gero and Red shared knowing, sinister looks as they watched the boy stand up and salute the commander.

"Excellent," they simultaneously replied, their plans now looking all the more likelier to succeed.

* * *

><p>"Hahaha! What's the matter, runt, can't handle the training?"<p>

The "runt" in question did not pay the other any heed, instead choosing to continue packing his bag. The other, needless to say, was not enthused.

"I said," the taunter repeated, this time accentuating his words with a roundhouse kick to the ribs, sending the runt tumbling to the side of their room, "can't handle the training?!"

The runt kept a hand on his ribs as he stood, his body trembling, but he still made it to the point where he waltzed over and continued to pack his back. "I… I don't gotta answer to you…"

"The monks are gonna be mad that you're up and quitting on us, runt," the boy cockily replied, laughing. "But it's no big deal. You weren't good for anything 'cept being a punching bag anyway."

"I'm gonna make you eat your words!" the runt replied, noticing that his bag was fully packed. He slung it over his shoulder and gave one final look back at his tormentor. "Master Roshi's gonna make me the strongest fighter there is! Then you're gonna be the one who can't handle the training!"

"Tch, yeah, good luck," his roommate dismissively replied. "As if Master Roshi would see anything in you, Krill-loser."

"For the last time, it's _Krillin,_" the young boy corrected, marching toward the door and looking back at the much taller monk over his shoulder. "And the next time we see each other, I'm gonna be the one calling you guys the weaklings!" He slammed the door swiftly afterward, ready to shed his Orin Temple allegiance to become a student of the Turtle.

* * *

><p><em>And that leaves RS's fourth chapter in the books. Sorry if this is a little awkwardly written; I've been dealing with a nasty case of writer's block and am just kind of trying to power through it at this point(for any of you <em>Turbulence _fans out there, yes, Chapter 21 is actually almost complete as well). I know how I want to write the story, so don't worry about that. It's just more a deal of writing it that has been a bit weird lately._

_Moving onward, this chapter saw an important shift in where Kakarot's character arc will be heading. I know many of you wanted to see more of the RRA's soldiers in general, but don't fret. I would not tie in the RRA to Kakarot's upbringing if I was only going to mention them for four chapters. This is just a necessary course that the story needs to take, which I'm sure that any writers on this site will back me on(or any experienced reader, for that matter)._

_As always, feel free to leave any feedback regarding anything on this story. While I am more than content to write for my own pleasure, it is quite rewarding to see what you all have to say._

**-Guest: Maybe a bit later on we can have a crossover between Turbulence and Red Son?**

It's… possible. I could definitely fit it in as a sort of special at the end of a chapter or two. The only real requirement would be that I'd need to get RS up to the point where _Turbulence _is currently residing in terms of plot, and while I could realistically do that, I sort of don't want to. Part of the appeal of having two stories is that I can write two different time periods at once, and so if I get burned out of writing, say, Vegeta and Nappa in _Turbulence_, I can just go back here and write about a hypothetical King Piccolo battle. Bringing the two stories together so close in terms of plot means that I would need to write two Saiyan Sagas at the same time, two Frieza Sagas at the same time, two Cell Sagas… yeah, it's not something I'd like to do, thank you.

So, in short: it's possible, but unlikely.

**-nightmaster800: So even though Goku is on the RR side this time around he's still his same old self. I like that twist. It's alway's interesting to see someone who's on the bad guy's side not act like people expect them too.**

**I assume since their calling Goku Kakarot that Gero and other members of the RR found the same message in his pod that the Nameks did in Turbulence. If so will we see what their reactions and thoughts we're to the message?**

**We see a very minor Dragon Ball character appear in Colonel Violet. Which bring me to something i'm curious about. Will characters who we're given minor roles in the Dragon Ball series get more spotlight in this story?**

You asked this question just a chapter before I planned on revealing it, but voila. Indeed they did. I just didn't want to have an entire scene based around that because while I do want to explore more of the DB era than I did in _Turbulence, _there is such a thing as dragging something out. I already felt like I was doing that with these previous two chapters.

Also, as previously mentioned, something that _Red Son _was originally created for was to be a parallel to _Turbulence_. There would be no point in having RS exist, in my opinion, if I did not remotely attempt to make it unique from my other project. As such, you should definitely expect a different 'major' cast. This ranges from different personalities to just straight up different characters. Remember, I did say that this fic is meant to be a bit less restrictive than the always-grounded/theme-focused _Turbulence, _so you may see some very interesting concepts being put into play here.

**-enarmonios: Really great chapter! ! I like kakarot's happy go lucky attitude, he doesn't have to change that for now since he was really naive at the beginning of dragonball, even if he becomes the perfect weapon he can maintain his childlike attitude for long, and I guess this would help him later to change his views and become a better person (although thats a wild guess )also keep your in mind that grandpa gohan was supposed to be more pervert than muten rossi so his journey with bulma would be interesting. Lastly did kakarot hit his head or not? In any case this has great potential and even if he becomes more of a villain for earth his First meeting with raditz would be interesting, I just hope that if he has a son by then he won't name him gero.**

This was very loosely written into the story so I understand why you're asking, but the bump that Kakarot took on the head originally wiped out his evil inhibitions. However, his hyperactivity from both his natural, naive self alongside the already typical Saiyan behavior(which was not wiped out as it was in canon) is still a big deal of his character. We'll see how long(or how) it affects the story.

I don't plan on touching on Gohan's journey with Bulma much, but I guess that's a small nugget that I could work on if I really felt like it. It's doubtful that I will, though. Trust me on one thing, however: I will definitely not have Kakarot be naming his offspring after Gero. I'd like to think I'm a little more inventive than that.


	5. Chapter 5: Double Trouble

**Please see the end of this chapter for an important announcement.**

**It's been one hell of a ride, guys.**

* * *

><p><strong>Dragon Ball Saga - Part 3: Double Trouble<strong>

"_His intelligence is subpar. He doesn't seem to focus well at all. He can only understand the most basic of concepts, and only if they're broken down into methods he chooses to understand…_

_...what _is _this boy?"_

_- Dr. Gero, Age 743_

* * *

><p>"Hah… hah… hah… I… I made it! I'm really on Kame Island! Whoo-hoo!" Fully flopping onto the dry, sandy terrain, the spiky-haired alien let out an exasperated sigh and looked up at the bright blue sky above him. The sun was shining brightly, giving him a nice wave of heat after enduring what had to have been hours upon hours of fending for himself in the ocean current. "Man… that sure felt like a workout. But I bet Master Roshi's gonna be even tougher!"<p>

He continued to lay in the sand for a few minutes, absentmindedly tracing patterns in the sand as his mind wandered. 'It's pretty around here… and hot, too. Back up north, everything's waaay colder. I think I kinda like it here more. It's…' Subconsciously, his eyes began to close, and a moment later he could feel his mind drifting off. '...gonna be fun trainin' here. But first... S'okay to… take a little nap, I guess…'

Within a minute, he was out like a light.

* * *

><p>"Hey! What the heck are <em>you <em>doing here?"

Startled, Kakarot immediately kipped up and focused his attention in the direction of the sudden outcry. However, his mind hadn't quite been as alert as his natural reflexes, which led him to let out a small groan of pain and clutch his head. "H-Hey… what's the big idea…?"

"Do you know whose island you're sleeping on, stupid?" continued the new arrival. As Kakarot began to refocus on reality, he could make out a small figure - certainly smaller than himself - with a bald head raising his voice at him. "This is the legendary Master Roshi's island! You can't just take a nap on here 'cause you're tired!"

"Are you one of Master Roshi's students, bald guy?" Kakarot bluntly asked, stupefying the boy in question. Not only had he the gall to just up and disrespect the turtle's name by snoozing off, but now he'd gone as far as to just brush the other boy away. "'Cause you don't look as tough as he's s'posed to be."

"It's not bald guy! It's Krillin, you stupid jerk!"

"Jerk?" Kakarot asked, scratching at his head. "What's that supposed to mean?" Little did he know, he'd heard vernacular back at Muscle Tower that far superseded the aforementioned word.

Krillin sweatdropped. "Well, I was right on the stupid part…"

"Hey! What's all the commotion out here?!"

Both Kakarot and Krillin turned simultaneously to the patio door, looking in awe as a well-aged man, bedecked in black sunglasses, a tropical orange shirt, and baggy dark blue pants began to walk toward the two youths. "I was watching… errr… television... when I hear a bunch of kids screaming outside. Usually on an island, I don't have that kind of problem."

"W-Whoa… you're the great Master Roshi, right?" Krillin asked, a little flustered.

"People tell me that," dryly remarked Roshi. "Now is there any reason you two are fighting out here?"

"Yeah!" Krillin exclaimed, jabbing a violent index finger in Kakarot's direction. "This goof here decided to just take a nap on your island for no reason! He doesn't have any respect for your awesome fighting skills!" he brightly grinned. "Me, on the other hand, I came from a village all the way in the east just so I could become your humble student! Please let me train under you, Master!"

"That's not true!" Kakarot swiftly butted in. "I came here so Master Roshi would train me too! I traveled from a place all the way in the north just so he'd show me how to be an awesome fighter!"

"Boys, please," Master Roshi mediated, placing a hand up. "You're both incredibly enthusiastic about fighting, which is great. Unfortunately, I don't train just every boy who shows up at my door."

Krillin's humble demeanor suddenly changed. A glint appeared in his eye, which Roshi immediately detected. "Perhaps some quiet reading material might change your mind then." Faster than the naked eye could see, he handed the old hermit a magazine and grinned as he immediately snatched it up. "That's from Krillin, by the way. K-r-i-l-l-i-n. Brought that just for you, master."

"Well, Krillin…" Roshi began, flipping through the pages. "After careful consideration, I've decided that I will take you on as my pupil!"

"Score!" Krillin exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. "I know my master's tastes, hehe. So when are we gonna start training?"

"Hey! No fair! You're gonna train the bald guy 'cause he got you a book?" Kakarot pouted childishly. "I could've brought a bunch of books from home if I'd known you liked to read! Darn it!"

"Like I said, jerk, my name is—"

"—Hold on just a minute there, Krillin." Roshi's attention was clearly piqued by the statement, as evidenced by him closing the magazine and leaning in toward Kakarot. "A bunch of books? How many are we talking about?"

"Well, at home there's a whole stash of 'em. People I lived with said they were really good too. I could've gotten you enough books to fill your entire house with if I'd known." He hung his head down, crestfallen. "I guess I'll be on my way home then. Sorry for wasting your time."

"Now wait just a second there, my boy!" Roshi excitedly exclaimed. "How about we make a deal, all right? You can be my second student on the condition that when your training finishes, you go home and bring me back those books!"

"R-Really?!" Kakarot squealed, his tail wagging with excitement. "All right! I'm gonna get to train with the strongest fighter there is!"

"And me too, jerk," Krillin grumbled under his breath. Little did he know the super-hearing nature of his new fellow pupil, who immediately turned around to face him.

"I have a name too! It's Kakarot… jerk. Whatever that means," the boy added, his mind still perplexed.

"Kakawhat?" Krillin stumbled, scrunching up his face in confusion. He seemed to mull over the name before he spat on the ground "That's a weird name."

"It's Kakarot!" the spiky-haired child responded, balling up his fists. "And it's _not _weird!"

"Boys, boys, settle down now," Roshi mumbled, having gone back to ogling the magazine that Krillin had brought him. "If you're going to be training with each other, then you're going to have to learn to be kind to one another. Otherwise I'll have no choice but to decline you both as my students."

"Still a weird name, though," Krillin repeated as he walked up to the patio door with his sack of belongings. "Why can't your name be something like Goku?" As if a lightbulb had struck him, Krillin let a devious smirk slide across his childish features. "Yeah, Goku sounds awesome! It's a perfect fit for you!"

"G-Goku…?" Kakarot repeated slowly, his brain pondering it over. "W-What's that mean?"

"Krillin…"

Ignoring the glare of which Master Roshi gave him, Krillin chuckled. "Yeah! Goku! It means 'strongest fighter,' and you look pretty tough anyway. Whaddya say, Goku, wanna be friends?"

"Yeah! Sure!" Goku replied, wagging his tail eagerly. "That sounds really cool!"

"Hehe, it definitely does," Krillin smiled. "Anyways, master, do you mind if I go inside now and unpack my things?" He gestured toward the purple sack. "It's getting kind of heavy…"

Roshi nodded. "Yes, sure, Krillin. Goku, you should join him and get to know a good friend of mine named Turtle."

"All right! Awesome!" Goku remarked, practically galloping over to the outstretched door that Krillin held open for him. Mysteriously, it slammed shut just as he was about to enter, leaving a large black and blue mark on his face. "Owww…"

'We've got a trickster and a less than aware boy… I can see why Krillin chose the name Goku now.' Roshi walked over to the door and held it open for the tailed boy, allowing him access to the house before showing himself in. 'But one thing's for sure: these two will be… interesting… to train.'

* * *

><p><em>And thus, ladies and gentlemen, Goku comes into existence. Why I decided to rechristen the young Saiyan warrior will be revealed later, but props to you if you can figure it out early. <em>

_If you need a little more background on why I introduced the name Goku in this chapter, I'd be more than happy to explain. You see, at this point both in RS and canon, Krillin isn't a particularly kind person. He's still the perverted kid he was before, even if he did have bullies in Orin Temple(which, I'll remind you, is also canonical). He also wasn't exactly the biggest fan of Goku for a while, either; nor is he here. I figured that since Krillin wasn't the nicest of people, he would definitely go and try and insult Kakarot by giving him, quite literally, the name of "monkey aware of emptiness." The translation's been argued, but hey, I saw this one and decided to roll with it. Again, points if you can identify why I made the decision to do this._

_Another thing you should note about this chapter is the lack of Launch. I knew that I wanted this encounter to be different from how canon went, and so I honestly just let the characters write themselves. Goku does come from a home with a significant amount of books, after all… just not the ones Roshi's looking for. Nevertheless, Goku's promise to Roshi does mean that he was able to earn his training under the legendary master. However, this results in Launch's absence from the story. We'll see where that leads as well, if it does anywhere._

_Moving away from plot-based stuff for a sec, I need to just address something about my writing on FFN. Lately, my chapters have been getting shorter and shorter, and in my opinion they are also getting weaker in quality. This one, in particular, was quite short. I'm not cool with this, but unfortunately, real life has hit me and it's hit me hard recently. I know that I've probably ticked off a few people who have put up with me talking about updating more frequently and all the like and then not following through on my promise. Well, unfortunately, that is not set to change for a few weeks. That said, I am going to be refocusing my attention on writing in the near future and, hopefully, getting my two fics where they need to be. I'd hate to see how many A/Ns have that written in my fics, but consider this the truth. I am committed to no end when it comes to wanting to tell these stories, and I feel as if having this chapter as a necessary 'reset' will let me plan out my content spacing more efficiently._

**-nightmaster000: Another great chapter. I look forward to seeing what Dragon Ball characters get more spotlight.**

**Will there be any major oc's in this story?**

Ehhh… it depends on what you consider 'major.' Do I have a few RRA original characters I'll throw in here and there? Yeah, most likely. But are they going to be front and center when it comes to fighting and important characterization? Probably not. Later down the line there might be a few more influential OCs, but they will not be written to have a major influence on the plot. I prefer to leave that sort of thing to the canon characters.

**Loving this different touch on how things could have went in the Dragonball universe, moreso as "Goku" isn't a I imagined him to be in this scenario, still being happy go lucky pretty much will be interesting to see as the story continues. The fact you've come up with a plausable way for him to learn under Master Roshi is quite well done as well, though I have to wonder if Kakarot will be able to keep his mind on the mission or if he'll grow attached to his teacher. I do have one question though, given their use of Mercenary Tao in the anime/manga, would they not just hire him to teach Kakarot or is there another reason why they went another route?**

You answered your own question there. He's a mercenary who, by definition, isn't as closely affiliated with the RRA. I doubt he would really train someone for money given his job description.

**-Guest: And man, if those guys knew that in canon, Krillin became one of the strongest humans ever, and invented a technique that can slice apart virtually anything, I doubt they'd be so smug.**

Well, the Orin Temple was basically handed their rear ends on a plate by Giran in canon anyways; I'm sure they kind of got the hint by then. That said, yeah, it's nice to see Krillin kind of overcome everything he has to become what canon lets him be. I know in _Turbulence _I've given him a rough deal, but as Earth's protagonist I kind of have to.

Here, however… well, RS is the parallel of _Turbulence_…

...Nah, I'm just kidding. We'll see how things play out. I do really want to shake things up as opposed to my other story and just kinda take some fun risks, which I'll be commencing perhaps as soon as next chapter.

* * *

><p><em>Hi, everyone. I apologize for the wait that has preceded this note, and I wish I could say that I have some overwhelmingly big announcement for you all. Alas, unfortunately, my news isn't pleasant.<em>

_I have decided, that as of right now, I deem it prudent to formally announce a break from FanFiction. No hiatus to write. No promise that a new chapter is coming soon. For right now, I just seriously need to take some time to myself and refocus on my personal life. That's not to say that anything too terribly tragic or dramatic has happened to serve as the catalyst for this break - no, not at all. I still do very much love the universes I've created and what they may hopefully accomplish in the future. It's just that, for right now, they simply aren't fit to be carried out to their climaxes quite yet._

_I know I normally beseech you all with apologies, whether they be for rushed writing quality or chapter production time, but this time is very different. I've openly acknowledged that those are but two of my flaws as an author and that, unfortunately, a busy schedule over the last three years has kept me from truly unleashing and realizing the potential of some of my work. I'm sure some of you have even been driven away or intimidated by these factoids despite my best attempts to prove they aren't true. _

_However, the fact of the matter is that, unfortunately, they are true. And it'll only get tougher from this point on as I continue to progress through the journey that is life. Now, like I said, nothing in particular has sparked this change recently. If you're fretting over my well-being, rest assured that I am perfectly okay and that I will continue to lead the life I want to for, hopefully, several more decades to come. _

_On that topic, I know that for many of you writing is seen as a release of emotion, whether it be anger, happiness, or even sadness. I'd just like to tell you that writing is not my way of expressing that sort of emotion. For me, it's about creativity and passion. It's about building up an entire universe in your head and then raising it to life in front of a multitude of people. I feel that only when I am able to share with my undisputed full creativity and charisma that has, somehow, kept you along long enough to read this farewell that I should be granted the privilege of writing my FanFiction. I will still be plotting and refining story elements while I'm gone... trust me, I don't think I'll ever stop doing that. Once you become a writer, you don't fully ever stop - no matter what people tell you. But now is just simply not the time for me to write._

_If you want to know, yes, I've got the sixth chapter of Red Son finished for you all. I actually wrote it a very long time ago and just simply haven't uploaded it yet. I've decided that the day I'm ready to return to writing, it will be uploaded so that I may(hopefully) see if any of you are still interested in returning to see my work. __Don't get me wrong on something, though - I'm still going to write whether or not ten of you read or a thousand of you read. I have, over these last few years, loved watching myself grow as a writer and produce better content for you all. Writing is, as previously mentioned, a way of expressing my creativity, so it's not as if I'm going to go ahead and just suddenly abandon it for a long time. However, when I return, I should hopefully be recharged as an author and manage to churn out a better product for all of you readers._

_I would like to thank _**SpiderLedgic **and **Supersaiyaninfinitygohan**, _who have been the closest connections I've had in terms of my writing career. Ledgic is a little more known for his lack of updating(more than even myself), but the truth is that he has spent countless hours with me on story discussion and characterization, to the point where I almost wonder if I'm doing him a disservice by not crediting him up top. His computer is unfortunately shot, but I know he'd be appreciative if you checked out some of his work(which I have a hand in editing myself). As for Infinity, I've edited for him on fewer occasions, but he is probably my most loyal reader and potentially even critic. Nevertheless, he's got his own work that should serve you well in my absence. If you need any other work beyond that, there's always my favorites list - and given how short it is, you can already tell how high of standards I hold those stories to._

_And finally, I have to give thanks to my biggest inspiration on this site. Thank you to _**DeathGoblin **_for writing _Pity and Empathy, _one of the first__ stories I ever read on FanFiction and the one that gave me the drive to start my own __work. Without your work, Super Vegetarott would never exist. _Turbulence _would never exist. _Red Son _would never exist. Nothing would have._

_Wait. That's actually not it. Before I leave you all, there is one final thing. I am not going to be retiring from this site(or the internet) as a whole. I still follow a handful of fanfictions, and I will be checking up on the fandom from time to time. Additionally, I've grown to really get into competitive Pokemon on Showdown and Smash Brothers. If you want to PM me for whatever reason, feel free to. I don't bite in the least. In fact, I'd almost kind of appreciate it. _

_Anyway, this has been one great ride, but it's closing down for maintenance as of now, I'm afraid. I don't want to call this my retirement because I don't want any of you to think that all hope is lost - which it is not. The only way you should be concerned is if I release a final chapter that pours into an epilogue - for both stories. Otherwise, my flame hasn't burnt out yet._

_And... that's it. It's kind of eerie thinking that this is the last official upload I publish on this site. Nevertheless, it really just might be. So I'm going to leave you all with the words that I thought would be my signoff on my last ever chapter, because honestly I can't think of anything else to describe how I feel right now..._

_Till we meet again, guys._


	6. Chapter 6: Devotion

_Thanks to all of you for enduring the wait that preceded this chapter. I've finally begun my resurrection run on FFN, and I'm really excited to have it happen. It's been a long time since I've been on FFN, but the time away and recent events has really made me remember how much I love this special site._

_A special thanks to Supersaiyaninfinitygohan for posting this chapter for me due to browser issues._

**Dragon Ball Saga - Part 4: Devotion**

"Yeah, yeah, idiot, I hardly give a damn! What matters to me is that you haven't sent me the order I asked for!" Commander Red voiced angrily into his phone, his face turning beet red. "You have exactly one day, to this exact minute, to bring me the additional weapons I ordered or else I will have my army tear up your engineers with the weapons we already have!" He slammed the phone down angrily, exhaling loudly. "Jeez, you think that you can't be any clearer, but apparently some idiots need things spelt out for them…"

"C-Commander Red?" squeaked out a higher voice. "C-Can we talk?"

He immediately knew who it was, and suddenly all his prior frustration had dissipated. In its place had come something akin to a warm smile at hearing the voice of his best investment to date. He was most certainly ready to hear at least _one _success story today.

"Ah, Kakarot!" Red warmly greeted. "Good to see ya, kid. Been a long while, hasn't it?"

"Y-Yeah," the alien child responded meekly, hopping up on a chair opposite the small-sized commander. "It, uh, has." He immediately shifted his gaze to the ground, something Red picked up on immediately.

"You all right, Kakarot?" he asked, a hint of concern lacing through his voice. Normally he wasn't one for such an emotion, but he made an exception given that the spiky-haired child before him had such bright potential in the future. "You look off."

"Can you, um, maybe call me Goku?" the boy responded, his eyes still glued to the red carpeting of his office.

"G-Goku?" Red didn't know what was going through the tailed soldier's mind, but he already decided he didn't like it very much. "Uhhh… sure, kid. Mind tellin' me why?" He leaned in, fully invested in what he had to say.

"Goku" was at a sudden loss for words, instead deciding on fidgeting awkwardly within his chair. His nervousness was evident. "Well…"

"Kaka… Goku… you're gonna have to speed this along." Red grit his teeth. "I've got work to do, so if you don't want to speak up, you may as well save it or another—"

"**I didn't kill Master Roshi!" **It all slipped out in the span of less than a second, the words firing off from the child's lips faster than he could throw his punches. He had a half a mind to cover his mouth, but what he'd said had already registered in the commander's brain.

"...YOU IDIOT!" Red roared, knocking a lamp off his desk. It shattered into pieces on the ground beside him, but Red paid it no heed. His infamous temper had been triggered, and there was no such remedy that was known to curb it. "Do you realize what you've done?!"

"I-I still learned from him!" Goku immediately responded, hopping to his feet. Though the commander was seeing red, he made one last hopeful plea. "I've gotten so much stronger from training with him, Commander Red! Please don't be mad!"

"And tell me just why I shouldn't?!" the diminutive leader hissed. "Tell me one good reason that I should be okay with you allowing a superhuman martial artist, someone who could, I dunno, _waste every goddamn one of us_ if he so chose to?!"

"Umm… Commander, he can't do that… not anymore…" Goku peeped out. His arms shaking in his Turtle uniform, he added, "I-I'm stronger now! I could fight him and save the army if I had to!"

"If I had to…?" Red repeated, his eyes glazed over in thought. Suddenly, he refocused and slammed his hand on his desk so violently that Goku sprang out of his chair. "**If I had to?!** What kind of spell has he put you under, Kakarot?! What has he done to you?!" When the boy could do little more than swallow nervously, Red grasped the first thing he could find - a pencil sharpener - and hurled it straight at his prized fighter. "Answer me, you piece of shit!"

Dodging it with catlike reflexes, Goku watched as the contraption broke to pieces against the white walls of Red's main office. Feeling a burst of rage within in his lower gut, he felt the will to fight back.

"My name's _not _Kakarot!" he hollered back. "It's Goku!"

"I _said _answer me, you brat!" Red blindly raged, throwing each of the three pencils he had scattered on his desk at the child. Him evading each one of them with a jump, and two swift tilts of his head only served to anger the commander further. "I don't give a flying fuck what your name is right now; you better tell me what you'd do 'if you had to' to save this army from being absolutely wasted!"

"I wouldn't fight Master Roshi if he didn't try and stop us…" Goku responded, looking straight into Red's eyes. There was a part of him that boiled over in rage, an urge to protect the memories of his time with the Turtle Hermit forming within his lower gut. "He's a nice guy. Krillin is too! All throughout our training under Roshi, he was always looking out for me!" Even though, in fact, that hadn't been true for the first few weeks, Goku adamantly stuck by his fellow Turtle student.

"You made friends with Roshi and this other kid?!" Red threw himself off his chair and immediately sped over to Goku. Still holding the height advantage over his prized weapon, he grasped the child's shoulders as tightly as he could. "What happened to the Red Ribbon being your priority?! What happened to wanting to make us proud?!" Flecks of spittle launched from his mouth and landed on the boy's neck, though the latter was trembling too intensely to notice.

"I still want to!" Goku shrieked back, his eyes beginning to moisten. His vision of Red became slightly blurred, though the signature snarl of his commander still pounded through his eardrums. "But why can't I be friends with them?! I'm still Red Ribbon through and through!"

"If you were Red Ribbon, you would be ruthless," Red seethed. His grip on Goku's shoulders grew tighter, to where if the latter hadn't been superhuman, marks would have certainly been left on the boy. "You would have killed both of them the minute you'd taken all you could from them. You did that first part well enough by getting stronger... " Red let out a frustrated howl of agony. "But you didn't kill them when you had the chance!"

"But Commander—"

"—This army comes first to every single one of us! We are a unit! We are a team!" Red walked over to his desk again and hopped back up on his chair, immediately thankful he hadn't thrown his phone earlier as he began to dial a particular number. "And a team helps out its fellow members." As the dial tone began to ring in his ear, he shot one final harsh glare at Goku.

"W-What are you gonna do…?" Goku stuttered out, the water that had accumulated in his eye beforehand beginning to drip down his cheek in the form of a tear. "Commander, what are you gonna do?!"

"Quiet, you brat!" Red scolded, still waiting on the receiver for someone to pick up. After several moments of silence, Goku's heart pounding in its chest, the commander raged on. "I should have you killed for your idiotic failure! I ask you to embark on one mission - one - and you go ahead and fail it! Tell me, Goku," he spat at using the child's alter ego, "since you're so smart now, what do you think I should have done with you?"

As that lone single tear began to translate into several more, Goku furiously wiped his face before giving a resolute glare at the commander. "Give me a second chance! I won't fail you, Commander Red, I swear it!"

"Second chance? You believe you're worthy of a second chance?" Red threw his head back in a chorus of laughter. "They are reserved for only the most worthy of soldiers who have proven their worth time and time again! Not some idiot brat who had his ass pampered for so long that he couldn't perform one of the easiest missions in this army's history!"

"B-But..."

"Quiet!" Red screeched, clutching the phone so intensely that it was a miracle that his knuckles hadn't gone white. "Another peep out of you and I'll have you starved to death, you understand?!"

This time around, the spiky-haired boy remained tight-lipped. Small whimpers of what could only be described as regret and sorrow leaked out of his lips, but Red's focus had been diverted from him entirely in favor of the recipient of his call. He shot him one final glare before he swiveled around in his chair, taking the phone with him.

"Mm-hmm... right... no, that can all be arranged." Red's lip curled into a devious grin. "Yeah, the sooner the better. Quite frankly, I wonder why I hadn't thought of this sooner.

"You sure? That quickly?

"Well, hey, that's perfectly fine with me. I just didn't think that you'd be able to show up that fast. See you then."

With that, Red hung up the phone and pivoted back around. The boy had ceased his crying in favor of a blank stare, hoping to avoid another verbal tirade. Red liked it—it already showed progress. "So, kid, you want your second chance, right?"

"Y-Yes, Commander Red," Goku quickly spat out. "I'll do anything to prove my loyalty to this army!"

"Good to know, Kaka... no... Goku..." Red corrected himself. "Not going to lie to you, I like the name better than Kakarot. Consider Kakarot dead now, kid; Goku is the one who's going to get a chance to go far in this army."

"Y-Yes, sir!" Goku firmly nodded, saluting the commander where he sat in his leather chair. "I swear, both to you and this entire army, I will not let you down!"

"All right, Goku. Now that we're done with that, let's get to initiation."

As quickly as Goku had brought down his hand from the salute, his eyebrow instinctively raised in confusion. "H-Huh? Initiation?"

"Well, yeah, initiation." Red couldn't hide his sinister grin. "I mean, you _are _a new member of this army after all. What kind of commander would I be if I didn't test your abilities?" With a quick flick of his wrist, he pressed a button on his intercom and put his lips to the microphone, speaking in a tone so quiet that even Goku's advanced hearing couldn't pick up on it. Just as swiftly, he returned to his original seating position and folded his hands behind his head. "M'kay, your initiation should be starting any second now."

"A-All right," Goku hesitantly spoke, turning toward the door and slowly lowering himself into his new Turtle styled stance. He had no inkling of what to expect, which only heightened his alien instincts for battle. 'I dunno what Commander Red's got in store... but I'm kind of getting excited...'

Suddenly, he shook his head. 'I can't do this... not like that. I can't be worried about my own emotion in a fight. Everything I do from here on out has to be for this army; my own feelings have nothing to do with it. Commander Red was lucky enough to give me a second chance, and I can't mess it up!'

"And here we go," he heard Red's gruff voice say. As if on cue, the door swung open to reveal a tall, blonde, and muscular man garbed in a tan overcoat and blue pants. His blue eyes immediately shot to Red with a knowing glint.

"It's about time that you grew frustrated with Kakarot, Commander," he smoothly answered. He pulled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles. "I certainly know that you aren't alone on this one."

"Like I said, don't beat him too roughly. I've booked an important meeting for him in a couple of days," Red nonchalantly informed him. "I certainly don't want to waste his time."

"Understood, Commander." The man's piercing blue eyes then settled onto Goku, who immediately tightened his stance further. There was no mistaking who Red had sent in—General Blue, the rumored strongest of any Red Ribbon soldier. "But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy this any less."

"That's if you can, General," Goku warned. "I've only gotten stronger since I was here last. I'm not going down without giving you a fight." As if to emphasize this, he clenched his fists tighter.

"That's where we disagree," Blue coolly replied, not bothering to take a stance of any sort. "In fact, I'm willing to bet that I can have you writhing on the ground without causing this office any major damage."

"I'd sure hope so," cut in Commander Red, pointing an accusing finger toward the general. "Because any damage you do is coming straight out of your paycheck, you hear me?"

"There's no need to worry, Commander," Blue assuaged, dusting off his uniform. "The boy and I won't be causing this office any harm."

"Good. Now while you're at that, I've got to make some other calls." Red lit another cigar as he dialed his phone again, holding it to his ear. His eyes still glued to some papers on his desk, he carelessly asked "and keep it down, would you?"

"No promises there," Blue said, chuckling as he saw his opponent's rigid stance. "As for you... your power really is something. You're definitely the second strongest in this army; you should be proud." All he got in return was a wordless glare, the boy's eyes scrutinizing his elder for any weak points. To this, Blue smirked. "Unfortunately for you, I am _the _strongest."

"Then prove it already!" Goku shouted, tendrils of ki beginning to grow in his palms. "Because if beating you means that the commander will trust me again, I won't stop until you're dead!"

"No need to get impatient, boy; it could cost you everything in a fight." A glint appeared in Blue's azure eye. "But if you're so interested in wrapping this up early, I'll be glad to indulge you." A faint blue color began to outline the general's body as he let out a small growl, his veins popping out to the point where they looked almost inhuman. His muscles suddenly began to pulse violently through his outfit, his well defined figure beginning to grow visible even through the dark tan overshirt that he wore.

"Now, boy," he hissed, his rows of teeth grinding against one another, "Tell me how it feels to be rendered completely powerless!"

Goku, immediately provoked, sprinted forward to try and intercept whatever Blue had in store.

Unfortunately, he'd fallen straight for his opponent's ploy.

"M-My body!" Goku gasped, immediately pausing in his tracks. "I can't… feel my arms!" True to his word, he tried to lift them, but felt what could only be described as a force heavier than gravity itself yanking them back down. "What did you do to me?!"

Blue's body returning to normal, he chuckled as he walked up to the boy. "So powerful, yet so simple. It's no wonder that Commander Red asked for my intervention." He walked around the boy, giving him a once-over. "Honestly, I feel kind of sorry that I have to do this to you. You're only going to repay me with interest later."

"I-I don't want to hurt you if I don't have to!" Goku cried back, his body still rooted in place. "We're on the same side… the same team! Why would I ever want to hurt you just because you hurt me?!"

Blue's sadistic smile suddenly morphed into a frown. "And that's why you're a pitiful soldier."

THWACK! No more than a second had passed by before a right roundhouse kick swung Goku in an arc to the general's left, sending him straight into the metallic walls of Red's office. The Earth-raised alien let out a disoriented groan before he suddenly felt the sensation of being plucked up by his hair, a smirking General Blue staring back at him.

"You're durable. Very durable." Blue laughed in the child's bloodied face. "But that's okay. It just means that I get to spend more time here." He immediately chucked Goku to the other side of the office, twirling around and pursuing him mid-flight to smack him down with an elbow to the ribs. The alien fell to the ground like a stone, but he was given no reprieve as a black boot immediately was dropped on his ribcage. A high-pitched scream resounded throughout the office.

"Still conscious?" Blue asked, actually half-surprised. "Fine by me. I didn't want this next part in silence anyway." He pressed down further on the child's ribcage, smirking deviously as he felt bones cracking beneath his boot.

"This is going to be too fun."

* * *

><p>Muscle Tower hadn't quite been the same lately, and Dolph knew it all too well. Although the rigorous training that accompanied the affiliation with the Red Ribbon Army was all too present, there was something different about the atmosphere of his workplace. He just couldn't put his finger on what that was.<p>

He set aside those thoughts for the moment, however, as he saw two of his friends begin to make their way toward him. He gave them a faint wave as he started to organize his plate. "What's going on, you two?"

"Dolph, ever the perfectionist, I see," snorted the first, a rather tall yet lanky individual. "With how hard you work yourself in training, you should just be happy that you get to eat at all."

"Haven't we been over this?" Dolph rolled his eyes. "If I ever want to go on explorations, I have to work harder with every passing day." He let out a faint sigh as he took a swig out of his water bottle. With that blasted Kakarot around, the rest of us have to practically kill ourselves to be recognized."

"I wouldn't be worried about that," laughed the second of the two, immediately catching Dolph's blue-eyed stare. "Something tells me that Kakarot's not going to be frolicking around much anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean, Streb?" Dolph asked hesitantly. "Is there something that you and Locke know that I don't?"

"That's a good one, Dolph!" Locke roared, him and Streb breaking out into a chorus of laughter. They soon expected Dolph to join in, but as they calmed themselves down they were only met with the bleach-blonde man's flat gaze.

"Oh," Locke said, wiping a tear out of his eye and suddenly frowning. "You're serious, aren't you?"

Dolph could do nothing more than roll his eyes. "Yeah," he deadpanned, "I am. So what does the rumor mill have to say about Kakarot?"

"Honestly, I don't think we can call it a rumor anymore, man," Streb whistled, taking a seat down across from Dolph. "Kakarot hasn't been seen since he came back here. You, uh, you did see him, right?"

"No, but I was aware of the fact he'd returned from wherever he'd been sent off to," Dolph answered, munching down on a sandwich. "What does that have to do with anything? Is he dead or something?"

"Nah, he's too useful for the army to go ahead and kill him. At least, that's what we think Commander Red believes, anyway. We all know how he can give people the pink slip at any second." Streb shuddered at the thought of it.

"Yeah," Locke chuckled. "But that's a staple in this army. Sometimes the commander isn't the one who executes, either. Remember good 'ol what's his face, the one who went ahead and accidentally spilled coffee on Colonel Violet?"

"Yup," Dolph and Streb replied in unison, cringing. Streb let out a deep exhale. "I still don't like remembering that. I've killed before, but that was a basic gunshot or two. What happened to him… that was pushing it."

"Anyway," Locke motioned to Dolph, "back to what you were asking me. No, Kakarot's not dead. He failed the mission that Commander Red had assigned him, and so he called in General Blue to beat the living hell out of him." Locke slammed his fists together for emphasis. "Given his reputation, I'm sure it was an easy win for the general."

"Really now?" Dolph half-smiled. "Although the boy definitely got on my nerves, everyone and their mother knows how high of hopes the commander has on Kakarot. I never thought he'd be willing to go ahead and potentially let him die."

"That's where things get interesting, actually," Streb interjected. "Rumor has it that Commander Red assigned a bunch of doctors to look after him. Like, real, professional doctors. I didn't even know this army had doctors!"

"I don't buy it," Dolph said, narrowing his eyes. "This place doesn't have any medics. No way in hell."

"Or maybe Commander Red just doesn't care enough about the everyday soldier to really treat them," Locke pointed out. "But that's not all. He even assigned Ambrose to be his caretaker while he's recovering."

"Ambrose?" Dolph put his sandwich down. "Isn't that the guy who…?"

"...could be mentally unstable? Yup, that's the one," Locke finished for him, giving him a knowing smirk.

"What an odd job for such a lunatic," Dolph thought aloud, scowling. "A lunatic, who I'll remind you, nearly killed me when he got angry." A smirk came to his face as he thought aloud, "I'm surprised that Kakarot's still alive if Ambrose is the one making sure he eats and sleeps appropriately."

"The both of us think that the only reason he's there is that Red likes him too much to let him go to waste, but knows that he's too quirky to be an actual soldier." Streb took a sip out of his soda. "But nobody cares about that guy. He's been a loon ever since his two friends died."

"Well, you gotta deal with that sort of thing to exist in this world…" Dolph trailed off. "But whatever. His business isn't mine." He took another gulp of water before smiling. "What _is _my business, however, is the fact that with Kakarot out of favor, there's room for someone new."

* * *

><p>"Rise 'n shine, boy, it's feedin' time."<p>

Goku sat up in his bed, the sheets in a mess and his vision even more so. He could've sworn that he was seeing double of the man before him. "W-Wha…?"

"Can't fool me, kid," the voice continued, stepping further toward him. "You ain't sleepin'. 'Course, if you were, I'd have to straight up punch you awake. You know the drill."

"U-Ugh…" Goku had learned that putting up any real resistance to his caretaker was ultimately futile. Although he wasn't a superhuman, he'd been quick to learn that Ambrose had a tenacity that was rivaled by none. So as to avoid that tenacity, he sat up and saw the man looming over him with a tray. "W-What's for lunch?"

"Dunno. Haven't really bothered to look," the man said, dropping the metallic tray straight onto Goku's lap. A wince of pain came from the boy as he clasped it and examined it for a better look. "Welp, that'll keep ya till dinner. Need anything else?" he called over his shoulder, having already taken his customary seat by the door.

"N-No!" Goku blurted out, perhaps a bit more loudly than he should've. Upon seeing his caretaker's stern glance back at him, he meekly cowered into his bed. "I'm okay," he added, his voice barely audible.

"Well, eat up. You've got a busy night ahead of you, little dude."

Goku's eyes immediately snapped open again. "Y-You mean… he's here?"

"I dunno who this 'he' is. All I know is that the commander wants me to take you down to the training room after hours tonight. So go ahead and try to find that good 'ol appetite of yours, cause I really don't feel like forcing soup down your throat like I did two nights ago."

"A-All right…" Goku exhaled loudly, opening the sloppy container and finding what had to be a hastily prepared bowl of chicken and rice. He frowned. 'Ever since Commander Red got mad at me, Chef Orange's meals just don't look as good anymore. Or taste as good, either.' He quietly began to dig into his food, trying his hardest to not be noisy. He knew that the other man in the room hated to hear any excess noise. "H-Hey… Ambrose?"

Surprised that the boy had called out to him, Ambrose refocused his brown eyes to look toward the young alien warrior. "What's the deal now, kid?"

"I was thinking about it… why haven't I seen you with the others when I trained with Sergeant Green?" Goku returned Ambrose's gaze, although instead of the fierce, rough, and hard glare that the soldier had given him, his eyes were dull and empty. "I mean… you look strong. Why aren't you in training here?"

Ambrose chuckled, running his hand through his shaggy auburn-brown hair. "So, after three days, you're finally up to talking?" A chorus of laughter rang through the darkened bedroom, the sound reverberating to the point where Goku slapped his hands over his ears. "Okay, kid, if you wanna know… eh, I guess I'll go ahead and tell you. Not like I have anything to hide, anyway."

Goku slowly removed his hands from his ears and focused his full attention on the grunt, who had taken the silence to kick his feet up on the unused, dusty desk. "If you're expecting some monologue, 'fraid I can't do much for ya, kid. I'll just tell you this much: I came to this army with two friends… and now, I don't have those two friends." He looked down for a minute, but quickly raised his head and cracked his neck before continuing. "Sorry. Bad neck. Injuries."

"So is that why you're not a part of the army's forces anymore? A bad neck?" Goku asked inquisitively, cocking his head. "Because you seem to move fine."

Ambrose smiled. "You're sharp, kid. I dunno why everyone thinks you're so stupid and childish. Then again, I barely knew you before Blue beat your ass down." His smile contorted into a frown soon after as he resumed his tale. "But no, that's not it. See, after they kicked the bucket, I… went into business for myself. I don't even fully remember what happened, but I just tore the living hell out of everyone I could see. That includes everyone we were fighting against, everyone I was fighting _with, _and even a few civilians that got in my way of either of the two groups before that. Putting it nicely, I was the only survivor when everything was said and done."

"Oh… so did Commander Red get angry at you too?" Goku asked, slurping down a noodle as he did so. "'Cause he did that to me when I messed up..."

A sinister, deranged smile graced Ambrose's rugged features. "Are you fucking kidding me, kid? He loved me for it. Said it showed some real character. Take this as a lesson: so long as Red sees results, he'll love you. He'd rather see one guy make it back with success than see an entire army survive and fail him."

"So… that's why he got mad at me…" Goku murmured, more to himself than Ambrose. "Cause, see, what happened with me is that I grew strong under Master Roshi's training, but I didn't end up killing him like the commander told me to."

"Biiiiiiiiiig mistake right there, squirt," Ambrose smirked. "If you're gonna take a job, you either overkill it or kill yourself, 'cause Red is gonna do that second part for you if you don't do the first. That's how you thrive in this army."

"You say that, but you're barely doing much around here, Ambrose," Goku innocently pointed out. Instead of getting a beatdown as he expected, the rugged soldier merely laughed at him. "W-What's so funny?"

"It's just that you underestimate what I do around here, kid. Like everyone else." A deranged glint appeared in Ambrose's eye. "I'm sure you've heard about the concept of execution. Did you ever consider who handles that part of the business?"

He received a blank stare in return, but soon Goku's eyes widened with realization. "Y-You mean, you…?"

"Yuuuuuuup," Ambrose replied, smirking deviously. "People underestimate me because I'm not the tallest or most jacked, but I know how to kill with my bare hands. Easily." His eyes narrowed. "I may not be an alien mutant like you, little man, but I am damn valuable to this army in my own way."

"How did you end up getting that job?" Goku questioned, leaning forward. A thought suddenly came to him—he didn't know as much as he thought he did regarding the army he was currently employed for. "Was it 'cause of that mission?"

"Nah, being a good killer doesn't mean you automatically get slotted into that position. Red thought I was still going to be of good use on the front lines, so he tried to set me up with friends again so that I wouldn't fly off the hinges." He darkly smiled. "But they're not here anymore, either."

"Did they lose their life to enemy forces like the other two?" All Goku got was a laugh in return.

"What do _you _think?"

They remained silent for a while after that; the only noise that could be heard was the faint chewing sound emanating from Goku's mouth. "I'm going to guess no."

"You really are smart," Ambrose dryly pointed out. "But yeah, to sum it up from there, after that whole incident and a few run-ins with some of the other soldiers, Red decided that it was too much trouble keeping me around others. So then I got… promoted… to where I am now. And as for why he let me around you," he said, already seeing Goku's mouth open to ask the question, "well, you're more durable than others. If I hit you too hard, you're not gonna just up and die."

"I… guess that makes sense…" Goku slowly answered.

"Hn. Good answer." Ambrose casually glanced toward the clock. "You done with your food? Cause you've got, like, five hours before you have to go, and I know how much you love to spend your time lazin' around and doing nothin'."

Blushing, knowing full well that was the truth, Goku nodded. "Y-Yeah. Especially now, since I've gotta be awake for whatever Commander Red's got in store." Goku returned to picking at the scraps of his food in his hasty, childish manner, unaware that Ambrose's gaze had been lingering on him the whole time.

'He's somethin', all right… somethin' real special.' Ambrose inwardly chuckled. 'Yeah, Commander Red, you definitely know how to pick 'em.'

* * *

><p>"This is your training arena? How… quaint."<p>

"It's usually set up for many men to be training at a time, sir," Green cut in, almost feeling personally insulted. "If you want, I can arrange something finer for you to work in"

"No, that will not be necessary. And please, do call me by my actual name… Mercenary Tao." The ponytail-donning man looked over at the other man present with his apathy evident. "Now, before the boy arrives, allow us to discuss payment. I assume you recognize that I don't normally accept contracts like this, Commander Red."

"Well, of course, Tao," Red answered. "We've heard your name around before; we know what your line of work is. We just needed this one… favor."

"You've got a reputable name, so I will grant you this favor just once," Tao informed, holding up one index finger. "I must make you aware, though, that my fee will have to increase due to this being a long-term job."

"Your fees were ten billion zeni before, Tao; what are you expecting us to give you now?!" Red gaped, clearly caught off-guard.

Tao chuckled at the sheer horror on the smaller man's features. "It won't be that much of an increase, commander. I wouldn't risk losing a potential client in the future by forcing you into bankruptcy."

A sigh of relief immediately came from both Commander Red and Sergeant Green before the former wiped a tear from his eye. "That's great. So what kind of a price are we looking at here?"

"Twenty-five trillion zeni," flatly declared the mercenary. "And nothing short of it."

"W-What?!" Red hollered, beads of sweat dropping from his brow. "You've got to be kidding me?! I thought you _didn't _want to put us out of business..."

"Commander Red, sir, we can pay that easily," Green confidently said, crossing his arms. "The better question is why we're hiring this guy to do anything at all."

Both Red and Tao turned to Green with infuriated and annoyed expressions, respectively. "Have you not heard of something known as a god damn haggle, Green?!"

"Commander Red, I do not like to be negotiated with. Nor questioned about my abilities." He shot a glance toward Green, who didn't seem to back down in the slightest. "The payments I ask for are either met or not met. Which will it be?" Tao flicked his ponytail to his other shoulder. "And keep in mind that I do not like to be kept waiting."

"No! Don't worry! We're going to pay you! I swear it!" Red babbled out as fast as he could. "Believe me, getting this kid to adapt to a more ruthless mentality is worth all the money I could ever pay you." Suddenly, he paled. "Please tell me you're not going to ask for all the money I can pay you…"

Tao almost looked irritated. "What did I say earlier about finding consistent work? Believe me, the profit I'll be making off this job alone will be lasting me for a fairly long while."

"G-Good… glad to hear it," Red breathed out, a sigh of relief escaping his lungs. Just as quickly, however, he turned straight to his muscular sergeant and began to shout at the top of his lungs. "As for you, Green, you're not eating for a whole week! How dare you almost cost this army all of its financial power?!"

"C-Commander, not even a little?" Green winced. "I've got to stay in shape so that I can help train the new recruits! Please, anything but that!"

"...You're right this one time. One meal a day for an entire week, and that's it!" Green exhaled a sigh of relief upon hearing that. "But don't grow complacent. The next time you go ahead and shoot your mouth off, I'll find someone better to train these soldiers, and don't you think for a minute that I won't call someone else in to take your place!"

"Y-Yes, sir," Green nodded, doing his best to not draw his commander's ire any further than he already had. "Is there anything else you'll need from me?"

"Get out of my sight, Green. You're dismissed." Commander Red waved him off in a hurry, to which the sergeant immediately responded to by jogging back toward his room. "Stupid buff guys… always loving to stay in shape…" He looked back to Tao, who seemed to be staring far out into space. "I apologize for my sergeant's idiocy. He doesn't exactly show much respect to his superiors."

"I am not paid to get angry, commander," Tao stoically replied. "I am here to train this boy, Goku, and mold him into a cold-blooded killer. That, and only that, is what I will do here."

"...Man, why can't I get more soldiers like you?!" Red snarled in frustration. "You're incredible, Mercenary Tao!"

"So my reputation would say, yes," Tao replied, no hint of emotion lacing his voice. "And let it be known that I do _not _fail my missions. Even if this Goku happened to be a pacifist, I could guarantee that I could have him killing his family in no time at all." Tao paused for a minute. "Does he have any remaining family for me to use in his training?"

"Nah, we found him as a baby without any real relatives to link him to. You're working all on your own."

"Ah well, it makes no difference to me." Tao folded his arms. "I've had a plan ready for the boy ever since you made your call. But speaking of the boy… where is he?"

"He should be here… I don't know what's taking him so long," Red admitted. "But I do know who's supposed to be watching him, and I'm pretty sure that he's going to face some severe—"

He was cut off by the sudden surprise of the door bursting open, courtesy of Ambrose's boot. The edgy soldier then took a moment to usher Goku in, nodding at Red, and then letting his gaze linger on Mercenary Tao.

"Oh, shit! Boss man, Mercenary Tao is workin' with us now?! Bitchin'!" he brightly beamed. "Sir, I've heard so much about your style! It's truly an honor to meet you!"

"The sentiment is appreciated," Tao droned, irritated with all the chatter. "But if you will excuse me, I have a boy to train, and I'd like to return home before it gets too late. I've got an assassination bright and early in the morning that I need to be well-rested for."

"...Holy shit, man, you're the greatest…" Ambrose murmured in awe. He looked over to the commander, who just seemed to sigh in resignation. "Well, come on, boss man, we gotta give Mercenary Tao his space to do his magic!"

"Yes… I suppose we should. Mercenary Tao, ask someone to escort you to my office for your initial payment after you're done..." Red tiredly said. Ambrose held the door open for him, but just as he was about to exit the room he shot one look at Goku. "Don't fail here, kid. This is your last shot at being a part of the Red Ribbon Army." And with that, he walked out.

"Man, the kid's so lucky…" Ambrose half-whined on his way out, closing the door behind him. The only two left in the training room were master and student.

"Now, Goku, allow me to introduce myself. I am—"

"Is this a test?" Goku asked, immediately on-guard. "Cause the last time Commander Red had someone come in, it was to beat me—AAAAHHHH!"

Within the fastest of seconds, Tao had closed the gap and planted a fist firmly against the boy's jaw. He was sent crashing backward, tumbling against the wooden floors until he finally stopped his momentum.

"Owwwwww!" he winced, rubbing his cheek. "What was that for?"

"I do not like to be interrupted, Goku," Tao sternly answered, folding his arms. "Nor do I tolerate it. You will speak when you are spoken to or if you have a question, but that question must wait only until I am done speaking." His eyes narrowed. "Do we understand one another?"

"Y-Yes…" Goku cracked out, the overwhelming pain in his cheek nulling his ability to focus. "Uhhh… what was your name?"

"Had you not interrupted me earlier, you would have known it by now." Tao let a small smirk slide under his mustache. "See how much easier it is to cooperate?" he asked, his tone laced with mockery. "The name is Tao. Mercenary Tao. Address me by that name at all times, and we will get along swimmingly."

"Okay, Mercenary Tao," Goku parroted, standing to his full height again. "Why did Commander Red call you in here?"

"To put it frankly, you are sympathetic. Emotional. Unfocused. You cannot thrive in an army with such a state of mind." Tao unfolded his arms and let his open palms hang at his sides. "What my job is, Goku, is to show you another side of yourself. One that will not be hindered by such characteristics in a fight." He could see the questioning look in Goku's eyes, and nodded. "You may speak."

"When I fought General Blue, he said that me not wanting to fight anyone else in the army was a bad thing. He said it made me a bad soldier." Goku lowered his head, slightly ashamed. "What did he mean by that?"

"It goes hand in hand with what I mentioned previously," Tao conceded. "You see, Goku, the fact of the matter is that a true soldier will fight anyone and everyone until a mission is completed. That includes anyone who gets in the way of that mission. By that logic, you should be willing to kill even your closest ally if it will translate into success."

"K-Krillin…" Goku softly said. A picture of the bald ex-monk came up in his mind. His innocent, playful grin, his laughter… it was all so familiar. It was almost as if he hadn't even left.

Then, suddenly, his smile seemed to split in half. As Goku focused more on the image, he noticed that his best friend's entire head seemed to have a straight divide. They slowly drifted apart until, suddenly, the boy's entire body exploded in a burst of bright light.

"K-KRILLIN!" Goku cried out, feeling an inexplicable urge to take vengeance on the first thing he saw. Locking eyes with the mercenary, he settled on his target and went in for the kill. "YAAAAH!" He swung a fist forward, but the assassin gracefully leapt over it and landed behind the child.

"You're already learning," Tao remarked, pivoting around to block an elbow strike from the alien child. "This burning desire to protect… it gets you nowhere. All you do is flail angrily, leaving yourself open to attack." True to his word, he exploited the exposed chest of his pre-teen opponent and hit him with a jab so hard that Goku nearly keeled over right then and there.

"Hah… hah…" Goku panted, his arms going to support his burning heart. It was going a mile a minute, but he didn't know if it had been his adrenaline rush or if it was the unimaginable pain his master had given him. "You're… strong…"

"There is no need to state the obvious," Tao stated factually, taking a few steps backward to allow his student some breathing room. "Now that you're not blinded by rage any longer, I want you to try and attack me."

"T-The same way?" Goku breathed out, coughing up a spurt of blood. Tao remained unfazed by the sight, merely keeping his eyes on the child as he struggled to his feet.

"No, not the same way. Your anger drove your fighting style beforehand, which made you incredibly inaccurate." He gave a small tut. "Now, now, stand up and prepare a way to attack me. To make it easier, I'll leave myself fully exposed, just as before." True to his word, he took no stance. "Whenever you're ready."

Goku took a moment, his eyes scanning the assassin to see if he would make any sudden movements. Oddly enough, he hadn't. 'Okay… when he jumps, he leaves his back exposed… if I can get him to make that very same movement, I can be ready and take him down!' He suddenly jolted toward the mercenary, no battle cry accompanying his charge this time around—a fact the mercenary picked up on with an approving nod.

"Much better," the teacher offered, watching as the boy drew closer and closer. "But you're making the very same movement—a critical misstep to an opponent who can read you well." He made that same leap into the air, just as before, but the boy pursued him in the air and, to his amazement, stunned him with a haymaker to the back of the head.

"Yes!" Goku pumped his fist in the air as Tao fell to the ground, flat on his face. "You were right, Mercenary Tao! I did—ugh!" He suddenly found himself having a reunion with the floor by a long-legged thrust kick. "Owwww…"

As he refocused, he saw Tao looming over him with a curt stare. "That," he began, folding his arms behind his back, "was another lesson. You should not get carried away in a fight. If you hit me, you should pursue me and make me wish I hadn't let myself off-guard. One attack can turn the tide in a battle, and if I had chosen to follow up on your display of emotion, you might possibly be dead." He paused. "Understand?"

"Owww… yeah… I do," Goku breathed out, his ribs feeling as if they were on fire. "Man… I can't even feel the center of my body anymore…"

"That is another valuable technique to learn—the art of isolating and targeting a specific portion of the body." Tao nudged Goku's side, eliciting a high-pitched shriek of pain from the boy. "Even the slightest appliance of pressure now stings as hard as an actual blow, doesn't it? That can also change a battle's outcome."

"Heh heh… hahahaha!"

"W-What?!" Tao cringed, feeling weirded out. "What could you possibly find so funny in this situation?!"

"You're so strong… and smart…" Goku coughed out, wheezing for air. "An… and you're gonna help make me a better soldier… for the army…" He continued to laugh despite his body stinging with pain and being face down on the wooden floor as if there wasn't a care in the world. "And… I gotta say… thanks…"

He found himself flying into the ceiling a moment later, his spiky cranium smashing against it before he dropped straight down to the ground again. He murmured one or two incoherent words before he went silent.

"Never thank someone who has the power to kill you at any time, Goku." He lifted the boy up and backhanded him across the face with enough force to send him crashing into the mirror-coated wall. Shards of glass immediately cut into the boy's skin, immediately awakening the boy to several fresh new cuts and injuries. As he screamed in excruciating pain, Tao walked toward the door and grasped the handle. "I will expect you to have grasped my teachings from today by one week's time. If not, there will be consequences."

With that, he let himself out the door and flicked off the lights, leaving a howling, bloodied, and broken Goku all on his lonesome.

* * *

><p><em>Several hours later…<em>

All Goku could see was the persisting, pervading darkness that his master had left him in. However, he felt so much more. Disappointment at being unable to earn the mercenary's respect, the ever searing pain of glass being stabbed into his skin, and the sheer disappointment that he felt at letting the commander down all blended into one disgusting theme of failure.

"But… I can't fail. This… this army needs me." Though he couldn't see, he could most certainly feel where the glass shards had impaled his skin. Slowly but surely, gnashing his teeth all the while, he began to remove them from his body. One by one. Bit by bit.

"I can't… let them down... " Goku hissed, removing another piece of glass from his bloodied skin. "...and to do that… I can't… be weak!" He stood up, grunting in pain as he did so, and made his way toward where he remembered the door to be. Instead of turning the handle, however, he flicked on the lights and stood in the center of the training ground. "I'll show them… just how much this means to me…!"

He began leaping all around the room, trying to revive the feeling in his body as he threw punches and kicks everywhere. Then, suddenly, he felt another wave of pain course through him and he collapsed straight onto the floor, his limbs giving out on him. Suddenly, a wave of bile began to build up in his throat, and he expunged it in one fluid motion, gaping for breath all the while.

"I… can't… be… weak…" he breathed out, feeling darkness enshroud him one last time. "...Or else… I've failed…"

* * *

><p><em>Merry Christmas, everyone!<em>

**A note to my loyal readers and those who have been waiting so long for this update,**

_Given that I finished Chapter 6 in tandem with writing Chapter 7 as a whole(and considering how long this chapter is already), I'm going to leave all the notes about my return for the succeeding chapter. I don't know when I'll get to posting it, however, as I've recently learned that Safari has grown incompatible with FanFiction's Document Manager(I used to run Chrome on all my old devices, but since upgrading to a MacBook 2015 Pro in August I've had to use Safari lately). That's why Infinity has so graciously posted this chapter for me while I work out the browser kinks. Right now I'm leaning toward downloading Firefox, but it remains to be seen as to what I'll do._

_Anyway, onto the content notes..._

_Things were kind of just flying all over the place when it came to going through this portion of the story, though thankfully I caught myself and managed to make things a little more grounded from henceforth. If you're wondering why I didn't go ahead and use this grounded approach to Goku's training with Krillin and Roshi, it's because, well, do you really want me to rehash canon when I don't have to? I'd rather not and get to the more divergent material that allows for my writing to show unique characterization as opposed to the character turns we knew were going to happen already. For example, I explained that Goku had an affinity for Krillin and Roshi in seriously one chapter. Given that we've seen this all in canon already, I think that using two to three chapters on their eight months together would be, to put it frankly, a waste of time. On the contrary, I will be using those two to three chapters to handle some more… interesting material that I believe will be more entertaining for me to write and you to read. The next chapter will feature the final timeskip that will take place in this portion of the story, but don't think I'll be skipping anything. Trust me, this is going to be one incredible ride from here._

_Now, with all that out of the way, I suppose it's fair for me to shed some light on my new original characters. _ _The origins behind the monikers Dolph, Locke, Streb, and Ambrose are all basically derived from German names. I'll leave you to do the research as to where the names specifically came from if you actually feel like it, but the one thing I should probably explain is why I chose German names. Quite honestly, they're militaristic, firm sounding, and ultimately a small nod to canon's inspiration for some of the RRA characteristics. I won't get into them here(perhaps another time), but there you go. These four may not necessarily be central characters, but they're here to build upon the Red Ribbon regime that I've established now that Goku's in the fray. More characters may certainly be introduced in the future, but I'd keep an eye on these four for now. There's no point in having a horde of faceless men make up an army that I will be focusing on for a while, right?_

_And finally, we have Mercenary Tao's inclusion. I knew that I was going to have him train Goku from the get-go in this story, but I didn't really think about how I'd do it until just recently. You can see that his training is resulting in Goku shedding his happy-go-lucky persona, realizing that he can't truly thrive in the Red Ribbon Army without letting go of sentimental attachment. Is it healthy? Hell no. But will it result in his betterment as a soldier?_

_...Tune in next time to find out!_

**-ShadowLDrago: Either way, as for chapter length, this was short, yes. But I don't mind. Heck, I've read chapters that are over 23K words in one go, but, this doesn't bother me, it's nice, I supposed that these chapters could be called "bite sized." As I said, I don't mind, your fic, you decide how it plays out and how long it is.**

While that's true(and I've written some behemoths that lengthy in the past), this short chapter size actually quite does bother me. I much prefer to write longer chapters; that just couldn't happen with the amount of short events I had to handle all at once. I prefer seeing my chapters at least exceed 6K, truthfully.

**-nightmaster000: Short but good chapter.**

**Kakarot now has the name Goku, and has become Roshi's student.**

**I wonder if they will meet Launch the same way they did in canon.**

**I'm curious have you read the webcomic Dragonball Multiverse? The idea behind Red Son and Turbulence kind of reminds of it.**

Errr… no. They won't meet Launch in the same way they did in canon. I'm pretty sure I made that explicitly clear last chapter.

As for DBM, yes, I've read it. I do concede that DBM, in a way, is similar to my own brand of storytelling in that I prefer for there to be critical divergence points that help to explain why things occur. There are a few elements of the story that I think are wonderful, but overall DBM has kind of failed to entertain for me due to an excessive amount of fodder, incredibly dragged out plot sequences, and a lack of significantly interesting specials. I can think of maybe two that I genuinely enjoyed off the top of my head(U4's and U3's), in fact. As far as characters go, I can only find myself truly enjoying Bra, Zen Buu, and the whole Gohan-Cell dynamic. There's also, in my humble view, a lot of missed potential with some of the more intriguing universes that Salagir has created such as U9 and U19.

I still keep up with it, of course. I just kind of wait for entire chapters to roll by before I read it all at once. I'm very against Salagir's methods of storytelling despite the fact that I enjoy specific elements of DBM, and as such, it's really nothing more to me than a way to pass the time nowadays; as a story I'm just not too invested in it anymore. I'd still probably recommend it to anyone who's not that familiar with it, as while I'm not too much into fancomics I can admit that Gogeta Jr.'s(and later Asura's) artwork emulates Toriyama's style very well. But at the same time, I'd also tell them to not expect that much of a compelling plotline.

**-Sephikus: Even if it takes you 20 years to get back to writing, I at least will be waiting for the continuation of this story. Good luck with your future endeavors and hope your "batteries" recharge swiftly.**

Here you go, pal. Here you go. Thanks for all the support, and I hope you continue to enjoy the fanfiction that is _Red Son._

**-WhisperingNinja: This seems to be a rehash of the last chapter and a bit disappointing. I hope the heart and dedication will go back into both stories(Turbulence). I was saddened at times to see errors and typos disregarded when once they were watched for vigilantly.**

**Life can throw us for a loop but as the old adage says "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." Hopefully a "break" will result in a refreshed spirit and tales once more worth reading…**

While I'll concede that the first few chapters are most certainly not my best work(and I have more to say on that in Chapter 7's notes), I am rather annoyed at the remainder of your comments. If my story is not worth reading to you, do not bother reading it at all, m'kay?

And finally: while my stories may have a little trouble getting off the ground, which I'll admit to any day, a ignoramus of typos I am not. By the way, when you put the parenthesis around _Turbulence_, you actually meant to put brackets [like these] instead. Just a little grammar tip for you.

To anyone who will read this: past readers know I am not snarky in the slightest when it comes to my work. But I will say for certain that if you call me a careless writer who doesn't care about their work, you most certainly do not know me. I'm going to step it up in the chapters to come, and the highs you saw me at before in terms of writing quality will pale in comparison to what I have in store for you all.

Bank on it.

Once again, Merry Christmas to all. I think I'll throw the next update up either before or after New Year's.


	7. Chapter 7: Mobilization

**Tournament Saga - Part 1: Mobilization **

Waiting wasn't exactly one of Commander Red's hobbies. He was oftentimes more attracted to seeing immediate results than holding out for his desired outcome.

However, even he could concede that the time he'd invested into re-training his prized weapon was invaluable. Within the first few weeks of Tao's arrival, Goku had shed his childish enthusiasm for a much more tolerable monotony, something that gave Red a great relief. There were only so many pills in the world for the eternal headache that the child's high-pitched voice could so easily spark.

Speaking of Goku, Red was on the lookout for him. After hearing he had been looking for Ninja Murasaki, Red entered the forest-resembling domain of the stealthy warrior. However, as he did, a sudden wave of uneasiness came over him.

'I'm… being watched… aren't I...?' he thought, a bead of sweat dripping down his neck. He felt eyes boring into him, making him subconsciously flinch despite his power over everyone in Muscle Tower. "Who's there?! Get the hell out here, now!

"I swear to god, Murasaki, if this is your way of playing tricks on me-"

Ninja Murasaki appeared in front of him suddenly, causing the height-lacking commander to let out a comical screech and trip over himself, falling face first at the stealthy warrior's boots.

"Yes, Commander Red?" he quickly replied, saluting his overseer despite his rather unflattering position. Watching as the patch-adorning overlord dusted himself off and stood to his feet, heaving, Murasaki remained calm. "Is something the matter?"

"You know I hate it when you just show up like that!" Red barked, attempting to get his breathing under control. Once his heart felt as if it wasn't going to just burst out of his chest, he gathered himself and stood with as much poise as he could. "Anyway… I'm looking for Goku. From what I've been told, he's been hanging around with you recently. That the case?"

"I don't know what you're saying, Commander," Murasaki replied. "He's not anywhere around here."

Suddenly, a heated feeling washed over Red once again. That intense stare-it was back, and somehow it felt even more heightened than before. He could hear nothing other than his own breathing, but he somehow _knew _someone else was in the room with them.

Eyes flickering around the room uneasily, Red locked eyes with the ninja before motioning him closer. "Murasaki… call me crazy, but I swear there's someone in the room with us. Did… did you notice?"

"Guess I'm not as good as I need to be."

Red pivoted around and let out a primal howl as he saw Goku before him; however, this time he was able to catch himself before he hit the floor in such humiliating fashion. That said, however, he was no less spooked by the sudden appearance of the mighty alien prodigy. "Goku, I swear, that shit isn't funny!"

"It's not funny, Commander," the boy replied in a faded monotone, "it's my training. I asked Ninja Murasaki to train me in the art of stealth."

"He felt he needed to do more with himself instead of just training with Mercenary Tao, and considering he only comes here weekly, I figured I could do something to help Goku out," Murasaki boasted proudly, puffing out his chest.

Though he wouldn't admit to it in that very moment, Red was most certainly impressed. His jaw slightly agape, he looked at the child in awe. 'Mercenary Tao practically left Goku for dead the first few times he was here… and now he's walking around just fine to get _more _training?'

"I hope you don't mind, Commander," Goku voiced with a dull intone, folding his arms. "As good of a trainer Mercenary Tao is, I need to learn everything I can if I'm going to do well in this army."

Like a spark would ignite a flame, Red's mind suddenly lit up as he recalled something he had long since discarded. "Well, Goku… if you want to learn everything you can, how about I give you an all-expense paid trip to Papaya Island for the World Martial Arts Tournament?"

"A tournament?" Goku raised an eyebrow, a far cry to the excited outburst he would have surely performed nothing short of a year ago. Red had to smile at how much progress the boy had made since then. "Sounds interesting… but how strong will the competition be? I don't need to bother if they're just going to be weak."

"I don't think you're understanding what I'm saying, Goku," Red snapped, annoyed with the boy's immediate dismissal of the idea. "This is the _World _Martial Arts Tournament. Only the strongest fighters on Planet Earth would even bother showing up to this. If you can go ahead and win this, it means that we're probably in the position to make our move against the rest of the world."

A faint glimmer appeared in Goku's eye, one that had been long suppressed since Tao's arrival. "You mean… we're finally gonna do it? We're going to actually take over the world?"

Murasaki grinned. "Seems so, Goku. Seems so."

Red shot him a death glare, wiping that grin straight off Murasaki's face. "Don't get the kid's hopes up. The only way I'll even _consider _trying to take over the world is if Goku can beat the world's strongest. Otherwise, what's the point?"

"I have faith in the kid, Commander," the ninja defended. "He's grown strong- stronger than anything we've ever seen before."

Red paused for a moment, evidently loading up another string of choice words, but nothing came past his lips. Quietly, he thought to himself, showing no trace of his reflective state outwardly. 'Honestly, this kid's probably gonna win the whole thing with no sweat. I'm just freaked out at the idea of a potential Roshi appearance. Knowing him, he'd manage to turn Goku against the idea of conquering this time. With as strong as he's gotten now, who knows what it'd take to put him down?'

"Commander," Goku suddenly spoke, snapping the diminutive man out of his thoughts. "I will not fail you when I get the chance to fight. I'll show you and the entire world the power of the Red Ribbon."

Although his exterior was sporting a candid grin, Red internally found himself sweating bullets as his mind raced with ideas. 'I need insurance to make sure that Goku's loyalty remains with me… but how?'

His eyes widened in realization. 'Wait! That Ambrose kid!' In place of his grin slid a smug smirk. 'Yeah, Goku and him get along well enough. If Roshi actually _does _show up and try to bend my little weapon's mind, there's no doubt that Ambrose would try and kill him. And if Goku sees Ambrose die… well, good luck to you, old man.'

"Don't worry, Goku," Red beamed evilly. "I have nothing but the utmost confidence in you."

* * *

><p>Far below the remainder of the army's forces sat a man bedecked in rather atypical gear when compared to the standard Red Ribbon gear; clothed in nothing but a ragtag t-shirt and a beat up pair of pants, he could do nothing but watch in fear as the famed slaughterer circled him.<p>

"Do you know why you're here, punk?" the menacing man asked him, his deranged stare piercing through his apparent prisoner's. "Aside from you fucking up, that is?"

"S-So I didn't reload fast enough during practice!" the captive sputtered out, whimpering as the jeaned legs of his tormentor made their way toward him. "That's hardly a reason to have me kill-WWAH!"

He fell to the side as a result of a nasty backhand, leaving a huge welt on his cheek.

"Yeah, no, dude. You shoulda knew what you signed up for when you enlisted in the goddamn Red Ribbon Army." The man had a sinister smirk on his face. "One fuck up, and you're deader than a doornail. Trust me… I know."

"You've messed up too?" squeaked the kid. It was clear he could be no more than twenty or twenty-one with the sheer naviete that he had on display. "Then you should understand why this army's rules are bullshit!"

The aggressor threw his head back and let out a howl of a laugh, a bark so loud that one would wonder if it had reverberated throughout the entire tower. "That's gold, kid. I actually kinda wanna keep you alive, if only for your funny one-liners. But I kinda have a job to do here. They don't call me Ambrose the Annihilator for nothin', after all." He began a slow walk toward his charge, cracking his knuckles as the soldier curled away from him, trying to pretend as if the old adage of 'out of sight, out of mind' actually rang true.

Although such a saying was not quite true, his prayers for survival were temporarily answered by an intercom suddenly going off.

"_All faculty, please pay attention to the following announcement. Big changes may be on the horizon for the Red Ribbon Army in the near future."_

Ambrose lifted his head in interest. "Oh? Been a while since 'Ol Red went ahead and put out a message like this…"

"_It has come to my attention that our army has grown in leaps and strides in recent memory. Quite truthfully, much more than we could have ever seen coming. With that in mind, the time is now to carry out my grand plan - my plan of conquering the Earth."_

"God damn, man, you can't be serious!" Ambrose felt a surge of excitement rush through his veins, and he couldn't help but pump a fist in excitement. His other hand went to absentmindedly combing through his scruffy beard as he waited to hear more. "At long last, we get to hear the main man's plan…"

"_Our first move will be to go after Candle Village, which I'm sure you already know as one of the more richer oil sites on the planet. With as much fighting as we're set to do, I want to stock up on one of our more valuable resources before we get too tangled up in other affairs. I'm going to be sending a good majority of you folk out there, so keep your eyes peeled for a roster in about three weeks."_

"Bitchin'!" Ambrose remarked, grinning stupidly. "It's about time we got to haul ass and do somethin'." Suddenly, a pang of sorrow rushed through him as he remembered a crucial fact. ''Cept… I'm not gonna get to go… fuckin shit, I forgot all about that!'

Fury burning in his eyes, he ignored the helpless soldier's pleas for mercy and gripped him by the skull, kneeing him so intensely in the skull that it almost instantaneously caved in under the pressure. Dropping him to the floor, Ambrose flipped his head upward, his mess of shaggy hair rising and falling with the sudden motion. His hand jerked into a fist, which he gripped and held to his face in frustration. "Fuckin too dangerous to play with others… no way, not this time; I'm finding a way onto that goddamn squad!"

Ambrose burst through the door and began a swift march upstairs, back to the floor level. Everyone was startled to see him, some soldiers even beginning to take their awkward combat stances, but the bulk of the attention still went to the intercom system.

"_This leads me to the two keys to our plan. Without them, this plan is going to fall right on its face. Their names are Goku and Ambrose."_

The lunatic stopped dead in his tracks as all eyes went to him, whispers and murmurs immediately breaking out.

'These pieces of shit… acting as if I can't already hear them…' Ambrose lamented internally, putting a hand to his head. "**Quiet, you fuckers, Commander Red's speaking!**" he suddenly roared, swinging his arm and connecting with a forearm so intensely that it knocked out the soldier closest to him.

Ambrose spat at the falling body as everyone went to recover him, paying him no heed as he went and stood on a chair relatively close to the speaker itself. He cupped a hand to his ear and leaned as close to it as possible. "C'mon, Commander, what do ya got me doin'?!"

"Dude, cool your damn jets; you could've seriously hurt him!" sounded off Dolph, shooting him a death glare.

"Be quiet, shitbag; you're next on my list if you say another motherfucking-"

"_Goku and Ambrose will be rolling out on a journey to the World Martial Arts Tournament on Papaya Island. I plan for Goku to participate in the tournament as a way of gauging our likelihood of succeeding in our battle against the rest of the Earth's forces. If he brings home the championship, we will make our move to conquer the rest of society with him at the forefront of it all; if he fails, at the very least, we have accurately determined the strength level of our adversaries._

"_This is the closest we have ever come to realizing our dreams, men. Let's not fail here."_

Slowly, a huge smile overcame Ambrose's face.

"It's showtime, boys!" he roared, pumping a fist in the air as a series of chants rang through the entire Muscle Tower. Despite the general animosity and contempt Ambrose held for a great number of the soldiers present, he couldn't help but body dive into the sea of soldiers and allow them to parade him around. It felt damn good to see the army's efforts being paid off so well…

...and even better that he'd gotten his long awaited second chance back in the field.

* * *

><p>That all seemed like a dream, so many weeks in the past. While he had to admit, if only to himself, that he enjoyed Goku's company, the annoying chatter he had to put up with as he escorted Goku past the registration stand made the lunatic ready to rip the heads off everyone in a five mile radius. He'd had to control such urges to pound idiotic humans into the dirt through the food markets they'd stopped at, through the city streets they traveled through, and the registration desk as well. He was just glad that he could take a second to himself to finally rest.<p>

However, even as he let his mind drift, he was still on high alert. Noticing a double glance directed at him, he stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. A boy sporting rather odd orange gear was murmuring something to an elderly man, pointing his index finger past him and at his charge. Ambrose snarled at him before he caught back up to Goku, reminding himself to keep an eye on that bald-headed brat.

* * *

><p>"M-Master Roshi, did you see that! That was totally Goku!"<p>

"Yes, Krillin, I most certainly did see…" Roshi replied, taking off his signature shades and narrowing his eyes. "I have to wonder who that man with him was. I've never seen him before in my life."

"But you're sure that was the boy you mentioned? That's really Goku?" asked another elderly man beside him. "Why, he looks harmless; he's hardly even Krillin's size!"

"The Goku we knew was harmless, yes. He was a very kind boy," Roshi iterated. "Ever since his sudden disappearance, though, he's shut us out completely. We're in the dark as to what he's like now."

"Don't worry, guys. I'm sure we'll get answers sooner or later," offered the final competitor of the group, a long-haired warrior by the name of Yamcha. "That death glare the guy with him shot Krillin has to mean something."

Krillin frowned. "That's true. But what could it-"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Turtle Master!"

Everyone turned to see as an incongruous crew of three made their way toward them, the center featuring a rather old man with his head half-bald and either of his sides being flanked by what could only be described as… rather odd individuals. Such a description was not deemed invalid when one considered the almost doll-like features of the one on his left and the three-eyed stare of the man on his right.

Roshi threw his shades back on and looked the aged fellow up and down before breaking out into a half-smirk. Although it was hidden by his bushy mustache, it was by no means concealed. "The Crane Master! I'm surprised you're still alive, Shen. What brings your aging face here?"

"As foul-mouthed… and as foul-faced… as ever, I see." Shen coldly replied. "If you must know, I heard a rather interesting rumor that two of your students went far in last year's tournament. I figured that if your demented teachings were still considered legendary to these people, it was time for me to remind them all of the proper martial arts style."

"Of course, if you want to leave now, that's also an option," spoke the triclops abreast him. He wore a cocky smirk on his face before beckoning toward the group. "I wouldn't blame you at all if you wanted to save yourselves the embarrassment of losing to us on the grand stage."

"We'll pass, hotshot," Yamcha fiercely declined, staring him down intensely. "I hope I get you in the first round just to shut you up!"

Shen smirked. "What a terrible comeback. I see your master didn't prep you well in the art of trash talking, either." He turned his back to the group and began walking toward the registration stand, arms folded neatly behind his back. "Come, Tien, Chiaotzu, we have no time to waste on such menial folk. We have a tournament to win."

"Shen and the Crane… well, even discounting Goku from the mix, this is going to be a tournament to remember."

"Ooh! That guy got my blood boiling!" Yamcha seethed, clenching a fist. "I mean it when I say I hope I get the first crack at him; I wanna send those guys packing early!"

"From the looks of things, this one isn't gonna be easy," Krillin remarked. Then, to himself, he added, 'but I have to advance in this tournament. If not just for Master Roshi and the pride of the Turtle… so I can finally find out why Goku left…'

* * *

><p><em>Although this is a shorter chapter compared to the 10K plus chapter 6, do not let yourself think I winged it; this chapter hit all the points it needed to and FINALLY takes us into the action that we needed to get into. For reference, the next chapter hit a crisp 7.2K words, which I'm hoping to make kind of a standard for you all. I'm not gonna try and get a chapter buffer anymore, but now I'm just waiting on each chapter to make sure I feel it's completely ready. I've also been revising some of my chapters with Supersaiyaninfinitygohan, a longtime friend of mine, who has again posted this chapter for me as I wait for Firefox to install. <em>

_Now that the long-awaited journey into _Red Son's _main plot_ _has begun, let me speak from the heart one last time:_

_The last few months have been a trial for me, both physically and mentally. First I had to deal with FanFiction burnout, then life gave me a swift kick in the butt that kind of forced me to get my priorities straightened. I'm thankful for it, however, because it's gotten me back to where I feel I need to be in my life. I've grown a lot as a person and learnt what I can and cannot handle. I'm not making any more thinly veiled promises to lure you all back here or to leave a favorite or follow; all I ask for is the validation that comes with being a writer. Showing your support for RS, whether it be reviewing, favoriting, following, or just reading the story itself does wonders beyond words for me. _

_Now, some quick final notes:_

_This is the last of the sped-along chapters of RS. It should be known by now that I suck at establishing a setting without having something to work off of; now that my basic templates and plots have been set in motion, you will see a lot more characterization, a lot more action, and a hefty amount of content. This should be the last 3K chapter for a long time, if ever, and I am absolutely thrilled about that._

_Speaking of those kinds of chapters, I might be heading back and revamping the first five chapters in an attempt to pretty them up, so to speak. If I do, feel free to leave your feedback there as well, as I'd rather not have them serve as weak points to my story that were written before my burnout._

_And finally, just thanks in general. I've forgotten how much FFN meant to me in the past years, and I'm so happy I have a chance to revisit it again with a story I know will truly go far._

_Oh! One last thing. I would greatly appreciate if you readers would start up a TV Tropes page for this story. My reason for doing so is not to gain any additional publicity or notoriety, but rather because I've been using trope sheets a lot in order to better organize my story(and flesh out some original characters; in fact, one debuts in the next chapter that I'm excited to see your initial reactions to) and I would love to have an additional space to better justify my use of tropes and all the like. It's more for my love of writing and literary elements than anything else, honestly xD_

_Anyways, I'm glad to see that my return was met with a(generally) positive reception, and now I can respond to you all to end this chapter's festivities._

_**-Guest: Another great chapter! Thanks for the update and merry xmas to you too! **_

_**Also, will you bring chichi and add a bit of romance cuz I want to see a dark goku x chichi pair and honestly, your writing's great and would love to see you writing them! :D**_

Goku's romantic life in this story is set to be one heck of an experience. We'll see just how that works, but let me say that I've always been fond of the canon couple and that I have no intentions of leaving any path unexplored. Trust me… this is going to be something interesting to follow.

**-Astroman1000: Wowza just read this whole thing and im very impressed with the way you're going about writing it cuz its really good... though i will say the prospect of months long waits for chapters is horrifying this idea is mystifying, the title alone told me all i needed to know about the story and its been spot on awesome**

**Cant wait for the next chapter**

**Thx ;)**

Comments like these remind me why I keep writing. I look forward to your thoughts and perspectives on the chapters to come, as that's when I'm really breaking my element by going into RRA combat detail. I still think I did pretty well, but it's comments like these that restore my faith in my ability.

**-WhisperingNinja: I distinctly remember reading that somewhere that someone did not care about the quality of their work. If I have annoyed them to the point that they WILL care, then I'm thrilled and look forward to being impressed. None of us are perfect but do the readers not deserve our best? **

You raise a good point, one that's valid enough to the point where I actually feel sorry for being snarky to you. So I do hereby apologize, as I thought you were nothing short of a troll.

Basically when I said I didn't care about the quality of my work, I have to admit that is partially a lie. I think I used that as my justification for why I seemed to keep writing despite the fact that I was getting mentally burned out from the process(and thus putting in less effort). However, I seem to enjoy myself much more when I don't go ahead and try to write a descriptive masterpiece; I will admit that. To try and retain the quality of my work, I oftentimes go back and pepper in my usual style to make it look and read better.

**However...** when I do this, I find myself having so many ideas to add in that I sometimes forget to finish a few things and, thus, have a few mistakes within my work. I don't like being snobby, but I just don't really make mistakes unless I go back and try to add more words or twist a particular sentence's structure. It's something I've taken care of by waiting to release chapters instead and proofreading them more carefully, which I think not only tightens up the plot but also the flow of the story.

In short: I humbly extend my apologies and would also like to thank you. It's readers like you that remind me why I held myself to high standards before and why I will continue to do so again. I may not catch every small thing, but I know I'm better than most in the grammarian sense and, more importantly, realize that I'm not perfect(although once I start posting my own chapters again I can look even more efficiently). That said, I will do my best to give you and everyone else a story worth reading...

**-Guest: Typos ignored once again. Point proven!**

...Except to folks like you who are rather 'in your face' about it.

* * *

><p><em>That's all from me, folks (<em>_Expect Chapter 8 to hit the internet in the first few weeks of January). 2016 is looking to be a kickass year for me, and I hope it is for all of you as well. Be happy, stay safe, and have a Happy New Year!_


	8. Chapter 8: The Mind

**Tournament Saga - Part 2: The Mind's Power**

"Fight!"

Master Roshi slid into his battle stance, watching as Tien mimicked his action by adorning his Crane stance. "I wonder how you will approach this battle. Will you try and wear me down? Or will you end this with a quick charge?"

Tien scanned the superhuman's stance with all three of his eyes, grunting. "We'll see, old man. But considering you've taken a defensive position, I guess I'll be the one to kick things off."

"I see." Roshi tightened his stance, his brow furrowing. 'Unlike many experienced fighters that I've gone up against, Tien seems far more comfortable on the offensive.' He looked out of the corner of his eye toward the curtain, watching as Goku and his unidentified accomplice stood eagerly as spectators. 'And he just might be too…'

"HYAAAH!"

Master Roshi was snapped out of his trancelike state when he saw Tien spring forward at him, his right arm extended. The wig-wearing warrior quickly parried it away with his left hand, but he soon found himself open for a swift left hook to the side of his head. Falling backward ever slightly, the old master still made it his priority to weave in and out of the way of a left-right punch string.

'Oof… that one stung… but he's getting just a little too frustrated. Now is my chance to attack!' the wise hermit internally concluded. He swung his knee upward in a slant, but he knew better than to think it would actually connect; anticipating the triclops to block it, he preemptively ducked down to evade the spin kick that Tien's body langauge had telegraphed from a mile away.

Always one to capitalize on a foe's blunder, Roshi caught the Crane student's second attempt at a kick and gripped it tightly. With a full rotation, he hurled Tien as far as he could— and considering the might of the world's greatest martial arts teacher, that was certainly farther than the ring's distance.

* * *

><p>Everyone gaped in horror as Tien was sent sailing out of the arena, worried for his overall safety.<p>

"How can someone be so strong?!" one man hollered, voicing the likely unanimous opinion of everyone gathered within the audience. Amid said audience, many were already breaking out their cell phones and dialing the authorities to report them of this man's condition.

And then, as if the audience hadn't been given enough shockers already, they watched with a combination of awe and horror as Tien simply _stopped _himself in mid-air. He pivoted around, his arms folded, and gently glided toward the arena before descending down to the ground.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for the spin, but as you just saw, I have my own means of transportation," Tien dryly remarked, a smirk on his face.<p>

"Hmm... well, it was supposed to be a one-way trip," Roshi replied with a hint of a smirk before crouching down and drawing one arm backward. "But I'll be sure to book you the right ticket this time."

"Your jokes are about as old as you are," Tien deftly remarked with his own smug smile. "And your strategy seems pretty outdated, too. There's no way you'll get past me with a stance like that!"

* * *

><p>"He's wrong," Goku bluntly stated, catching Ambrose out of his trancelike stupor.<p>

"Eh?" he dazedly remarked. "Whaddya mean, kid? The old fart looks like dementia's gotten to him. No way that's a proper fighting position."

"I guess you're wrong too, Ambrose," Goku confidently said. He narrowed his eyes. "Just look at him… sure, he doesn't look prepared for every angle of attack, but that's because he doesn't need to be. He's already studied what kind of fighter this Tien Shinhan is from all of his time watching him battle—with both Yamcha against himself."

"...You know me, kid, I tune out when I hear these kinds of rants," Ambrose admitted. "Wanna dumb it down a little?"

Goku's face hardened as he looked toward the battlefield once more. "This Jackie Chun guy has Tien all figured out. He knows exactly what he's going to do next. And now, because of that, he knows exactly how to dodge."

* * *

><p>And Goku had turned out exactly right. Tien went for a low-sweep, but Roshi immediately leapt over it and readied a fist for his eventual counterattack, his back still toward the now approaching Tien. Within a moment, however, he'd righted that wrong, spinning around and throwing a flurry of punches with a solemn expression that incited a growl out of the triclops.<p>

'I take back everything I said about him being a typical old man… he's got the mental art of fighting down pat,' Tien thought, continuing to match Roshi blow-for-blow. 'You sure don't fight like any old man I've ever known!'

Although Roshi kept an impeccable poker face, on the inside he could feel his adrenaline pulsing. 'He's pretty strong for such a young punk… he could really go far with the right instruction. Shen's taught him well, but he's not there yet. One well-timed trick and he's done for!'

They immediately broke from one another and flipped down to the ground, but Roshi refused to sacrifice the momentum of the match after he'd worked so hard to attain it. Sprinting toward his adversary as fast as possible with a battle cry, he suddenly split into eight carbon copies of himself before circling the triclops repeatedly, a faint clicking noise reverberating around the battlefield as the triclops braced himself for attack. However, when it was clear no assault was coming, Tien dropped his stance and raised an eyebrow as he looked from side to side. "Hmmm…"

Suddenly, it hit him. "The mirror image technique!"

"What's the matter?" Roshi's voice echoed amongst the eight illusions as they continued to swarm around Tien. Each of them stood tall in their battle stance as if they were going to strike at any given moment. "Am I too much for ya?!"

"Honestly, Chun, I'm disappointed. After having impressed me so much to begin with, you go ahead and pull a second-rate technique out. Are you really that scared that you need to hide from me? I don't bite!"

Suddenly, his eyes twinkled with a knowing glint. "Three eyes are better than eight Chuns any day of the week!"

All three of his eyes moved from side to side, observing any and all possible angles. He left no stone unturned as he tried to determine the real Jackie Chun from amongst the imposters. 'It's clear that he wants me to attack before he makes any movement,' he deduced. 'Jackie Chun seems like he's the kind of guy to try and catch an opponent when they slip up. He's much more of a passive fighter than he is an aggressive one… that puts me in a dangerous spot. I have to get this right or else I could lose the entire match right here!'

He steeled his gut. He took a deep breath. Knowing that he'd locked in his plan of attack, he readied himself. "I… choose… you!"

With a spinning back kick, the triclops locked in his decision, and fortunately for his chances, he had chosen right. The gray-haired martial artist was sent skidding back until he slammed back-first into the wall, sinking to the ground pathetically.

"What good's a third eye if it doesn't get you out of a tight spot from time to time, right, Chun?" Tien amusedly commented. 'I have to say, I'm more than a little impressed. Any other user of such a pathetic technique would be easy to pick out, but Chun's just a bit better than the rest of them. It's just too bad for him that I'm even better.'

"You made a good choice there, Tien," Roshi acknowledged, grunting in pain. "I really did underestimate you. It seems winning this fight is going to take both brains and brawn on my part."

"I'm so sorry to hear you expected anything less," Tien sarcastically quipped. "But I would want nothing more than to beat you at my best. So let's get to it!"

Just like before, Tien was the one to dash in, moving his arms at such a speed that it looked as if he had at least twenty at his disposal. Yet Master Roshi was not one to fall for such a trick, no matter how savvy, and he easily clamped down on either of the young upstart's arms with his own two hands and kneed the triclops as hard as he could in his stomach. Gasping for breath, Tien had no time to react as Roshi extended his leg in a full kick and caught him right under the chin, sending him sailing up into the sky before crashing back down to the floor.

* * *

><p>Gasping for breath as he stood, Tien watched as Jackie Chun discarded his top to reveal what was - for an old man, at least - a rather respectful figure. 'I guess he isn't lying about taking this seriously… so I guess I'll throw everything I have at him right now!'<p>

Honing in on the old man, Tien performed a quick flip in mid-air to reach Chun faster. He clearly wasn't ready for it, the triclops noted, as a swift series of knees caught him repeatedly in the skull and Chun had no retaliation to it whatsoever other than gasping for air. Seeing that he was beginning to fall from such pressure, the Crane student held him firmly by the throat and knocked whatever wind remained in Jackie with a horrifyingly accurate fist to the abdomen.

But Chun was far from finished. Gritting through the pain, he caught Tien with his own backhand to the face, which started another entire exchange of blows between the two.

'All the control I had over this match is suddenly gone,' Tien lamented, noticing the purple bruises beginning to appear on Chun's figure—as well as his own. 'There's just no way to break past him! Who _is _he?'

Both fighters suddenly fell to their knees, out of both stamina and punching power for the briefest of moments. Unwilling to let his foe garner any advantage over him, Tien rolled away and back to his feet, and it was only when he had regained his footing that he'd realized Chun had done the same.

'It makes no sense that an old man could be so agile and so skillful!' Tien scowled. 'Whoever he is, he's stronger than anyone I've ever faced in my life! Does he ever even feel his age?!' He took a deep breath inward. 'No. If I'm going to beat him, I have to use what I possess that he doesn't. I can win this!'

With that thought concluded, Tien leapt into the sky, before swiftly diving down toward Jackie Chun; although the elder of the two caught his opponent with a knee and picked him right out of the air, Tien tried to retaliate by catching him with the back of his heel. Chun dodged, however, and tried to strike the back of Tien's skull with his fist. Though he connected, Tien fought through the pain and whirled around, headbutting Chun right in the skull as hard as he could.

Watching as Chun took several dazed steps backward, Tien grimaced. 'Looks like I bought myself just a few seconds to recover… but how many more times am I going to be able to fend him off? Every time I keep coming at him, I swear it's as if I'm the one who ends up losing out!'

* * *

><p>Across the battlefield, although Tien would have found it hard to believe, the disguised Master Roshi had quite similar thoughts. 'He's incredibly resilient. I can counter him and counter him well, but he's quickly picking up on my style. He's willing to put everything on the line to win this match, and that means I'm going to have to do the same.' Roshi smiled. 'Heh… this new generation has some great potential. But I'm going to do everything I can to stand in the way of it!'<p>

"So… tired out yet, Chun?" Tien asked, rolling his shoulders and grunting as he felt them crack. "I don't blame you. My fighting skills are second to none, and I will prove that in this tournament when I win the entire thing!"

"Well, I agree with part of that, Tien," Roshi responded truthfully. "You really are a great fighter. Honestly, you're too good to be hanging around with Shen and the Crane school. Why would you bother settling for less when you could be so much more?"

"That's none of your business! You can't badmouth my mentor like that!" Tien threatened, raising a fist.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Roshi taunted, his lip curling into a smirk. "Are you going to fight for his honor or just whine about it?"

Tien snarled, but he suddenly paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. Then he smirked. "I see your games, old-timer; you're trying to get me to lose my cool. It was a good effort, but one that isn't gonna cut it. But as a reward, I guess I could let you see my full strength… if only for a minute."

* * *

><p>"He's totally bluffing," Ambrose smirked. "There's no way that this arrogant dude would let himself take so much damage just because he didn't want to put effort into this battle."<p>

"Yeah… he is bluffing, that much is for sure."

Ambrose nudged his smaller companion in the shoulder. "Guess you've got an easy victory lined up for you in the finals, huh?"

Goku said nothing.

* * *

><p>Tien lined up his fingers against his face, sprawling them out as Jackie Chun looked at him with nothing short of confusion. "Thanks for the match… but I'm afraid it ends here! Solar Flare!"<p>

A blinding wave of light surged from Tien's fingertips, encompassing the entire arena and robbing all of their natural eyesight. The audience screamed in pain as they clutched at the air feebly. The spectators in the back snarled as they did the same, although their screams were accompanied by a hefty string of swear words courtesy of Goku's accomplice.

But most importantly, Jackie Chun too was blinded.

Tien, easily able to sneak behind Chun at this point, leapt up into the air and struck the back of the elder's skull with the hardest knee he could muster, sending him straight to the ground face-first at the edge of the ring.

"_Wow! Incredible! Ladies and gentlemen, in case you didn't catch that, Tien took advantage of that sudden brightness and delivered a knee to the back of his head! Jackie Chun is _out_, but I'll count anyway!" _the announcer, previously having been stunned into silence by the most back-and-forth match he'd seen to date, declared. _"One! Two!"_

"Don't worry," Tien glanced over to the announcer. "I made sure not to kill him. If I had, I wouldn't advance in the tournament. That said… I'd give him several years before he regains full consciousness, if he ever does."

"_Five! Six! Seven!"_

"Hmmpf…" Jackie muttered, clawing at the tile below him. "That… that one… really got me…"

"Y-You stubborn fool!" Tien screeched. Although he knew he could've quite easily, the triclops opted not to go for the easy elimination during Chun's recovery—he had earned at least that much. "Why wouldn't you just stay down!"

"Because… g-grh…" Chun growled as he rolled his neck. "Apparently I have to teach you to respect your elders a little more!"

For once, Tien genuinely had no words. "W-What… what are you, old-timer…" he rasped.

"It really burns me up inside!" Jackie Chun continued, scowling. "Your formidable power would be so useful if only you used it for good! Why would you turn to the Crane? Your power cries out in shame! Let yourself break free of Shen's ways and run toward a life of freedom!"

"What kind of cliche garbage is that, Chun? I'll make you eat all those filthy words!" Tien vowed, sprinting forward and connecting with a swift punch. 'W-Wait… did I… just… hit him with my initial attack?' Deciding not to get too caught up in it, he went for a high kick that also, surprisingly, made contact with his target and sent him flying backward.

Performing a back-flip before fully recovering his orientation, Chun smirked. "What's the matter? Lost your bravado?"

"I swear I knocked something loose in your skull there; there's no way you even know what you're saying anymore!" Tien didn't know how to feel about this new approach Chun was taking. All he knew for certain was that it was certainly ineffective—he wasn't getting anywhere at all. "Are you just a coward who knows he's lost?!"

"Come on now, forget about this fight for a minute… are you really that scared by what I have to say?" Chun responded, completely ignoring Tien's outcry. "All I'm pointing out is how suppressed you're living your life. Or do you really enjoy being hated worldwide… just like your Master Shen!"

Tien scowled. "Now listen here, you—"

"_Tien!"_

Tien's triptych of eyes widened as he felt his master's voice reach out to him. _"What is it, Master Shen?"_

"_I've figured it out! That old coot isn't some no-name! That's Master Roshi, the Turtle Hermit in disguise!"_

* * *

><p>Master Roshi immediately knew what Tien's smile meant. It was all too obvious. "So, I've been unmasked, have I?" he said almost jokingly.<p>

"I should've known all along, Turtle," Tien replied, chuckling to himself. "Now that I look back on this entire fight, it's all too obvious who you really were."

Roshi's half-smile evaporated into a solemn facial mask. "Well, I want you to know this much, Tien: I didn't say any of that because of who I am and what your mentor thinks of me. I really do believe you and your power are being wasted on the wrong side of the coin."

"What, do you expect me to say thanks?" Tien smirked. "Not on your life. But I guess I do owe you something for giving me such a good fight… so let me show you something that I think you'll find interesting." Cupping his hands to his side, a faint blue light beginning to gather betwixt his palms, the triclops beamed sinisterly. "Ka…"

Roshi did have to admit he found such a thing interesting. In fact, he genuinely couldn't believe what he was seeing. 'Can he actually pull off a Kamehameha wave?! One that took me fifty entire years to truly master?!'

"Me… ha…" Tien grinned. "Me… HAAAAAAH!"

A gargantuan azure energy beam erupted from Tien's bare palms, leaving Roshi to gasp in awe. "It's huge! What're you doing with so much power; that'll kill some of the spectators!" With all his might, he pushed against his own attack as hard as he could, grounding his teeth and doing his best to heave it upward. By summoning nothing short of everything he had, he pushed it upward and watched as it evaporated into the sky with a faint twinkle.

"_To think that a Crane student would release a Kamehameha wave!" _the announcer gaped. "_What an incredible sight!"_

"I don't get why he's so excited over there, Roshi," Tien cockily smirked. "Your Kamehameha wave is such an elementary move. Just seeing it once is enough to make it your own." He clenched a fist to his chest. "Show me some more moves, why don't you? I'd like to learn!"

At that very moment, Master Roshi was paralyzed. Not with fear, not with horror… but with awe and confidence. "You're even better than I thought you were, Tien…" he beamed brightly. "I'm so happy that I'm shivering! I've been waiting for fighters like you to come along, my boy!" He turned around, beginning to walk toward the back.

Tien reached a hand out, as if he was almost trying to prevent him from doing whatever he had planned. "W-What are you…?" he asked, confused.

"Now I can go back to retirement again!" Roshi cheered, daintily hopping off the ring ground…

...and onto the grassy terrain.

"W-What?!" Tien roared in disbelief. "You're kidding me! There's no way that's the end of this thing!"

"_Contestant Jackie's feet _did _hit the floor… Contestant Tien has won," _the announcer officially disputed. _"What a shame… that was such a well-fought match…"_

However, Roshi paid them no heed. As he walked to the back, he wore a huge smile on his face. 'Yes… it really is a new era dawning, I think… even if some of them aren't on the right path as of now.' He stopped just as he made it to the back, locking eyes with both Goku and Ambrose for the briefest of moments.

"It's not too late for you either, Goku."

And with that, he walked off.

"The fuck? How does he know you?" Ambrose asked, scratching his head. "Part of me wants to go beat the answer outta him, but I definitely wouldn't go after him after seeing that performance…"

"I don't know, and I don't care," Goku stoically insisted. "I have bigger things to worry about, like finding a way to take down Tien. But first… I have to knock off… Krillin."

"_All right! The next match is Goku vs. Krillin!" _the announcer called, re-confirming the match ahead.

Goku's heart pounded in his chest. 'This… is gonna be harder than any trick Tien could throw at me…'

Upon hearing his name being called, Krillin regained his focus from the corner of the room he'd been standing in. He walked up to Goku, nervously, before looking at him dead in the eye. "This entire tournament, I could've tried to talk to you, but I didn't." A bead of sweat fell from his chrome dome. "Just… promise me, old buddy… will you at least talk to me after this match ends?"

Goku hardened his gaze. He knew that if he said anything right then and there, everything he'd worked so hard to bottle within himself would come pouring right out in an unwanted stream of emotion.

So he did the only thing he could.

He walked straight toward the tournament ring without so much as a spare glance back toward his opponent, leaving Krillin to shed one sole tear before following his former friend's footsteps.

* * *

><p>"This one… is gonna be interesting," Ambrose murmured to himself. Then, suddenly, in a much louder tone he hollered, "Don't you forget what I told you about, Goku! Don't you mess up again and let everyone down!"<p>

* * *

><p>As he stood across from Krillin, both young teens trembling with emotion, Goku felt his eyes redden, tears threatening to leap out of his eyelids within a moment's notice. "I can't… and I won't!"<p>

* * *

><p>"Soldier Streb, there any activity we should be aware of?"<p>

"Not that I can see, no," the soldier affirmed, squinting through his Red Ribbon branded binoculars to be sure. "But I do see a handful of people gathering around in the center of the village, Sergeant Anton."

"Interesting…" Anton scrunched his nose in thought before shrugging his shoulders. "Well, I guess that makes our job of rounding them up a whole lot easier. No signs of any real militarial forces?"

"Nah… they don't look like the kind of folk to be sporting weaponry. The guy who's speaking is dressed up in some old-timey, last century bullshit."

"How dull," Dolph interrupted, loading his semi-automatic rifle with a magazine of bullets and slapping it just to be sure. "I was hoping for this to be a raid worth going on. I hardly think this is going to live up to the commander's hype at all."

"Quiet there, junior!" Anton's firm, rough voice ordered. As a deer would when flashed with headlights, Dolph's eyes bugged out and he stood stiffly still. "Every mission that Commander Red has his soldiers go on is one worth going on! If you believe any differently, say it right now and I'll blow your goddamn head off myself!"

"Sir, no, sir!" Dolph almost cheesily phrased, saluting the sergeant where he stood. He relaxed his shoulders as Anton spat at his feet before turning back to face the village. 'Thank god for this fool getting off on respect... or else I really _would _have died…'

"Anyway, men, we're going to employ what I like to call the Rapid Neutralizer." Anton grinned, tightening his signature black glove before running it through his short crop of brown hair. "What we're gonna do is make ourselves known by knocking a handful of 'em out, and then we're gonna leave the rest as hostages while we negotiate with the head honcho. I don't care what you do with 'em afterward, but leave anyone alive that you can for bargaining points. Only after we strike a deal are you allowed to murder. Got it?"

"Sergeant!" called out one of the soldiers in the back of the clump. All eyes went to him as Anton nodded. "Are we permitted to kill if they manage to get us into a compromising position?"

"Pah! If your sorry dumb self gets into a situation like that, Kass, you _deserve _to be killed," he cockily remarked, leading the rest of the soldiers present in a chorus of uproarious laughter. "Now, men, any more actual _intelligent _questions?"

"No, Sergeant," Locke immediately cut in, seeing that Kass was already preparing to open his mouth again. "There aren't any more," he finished with a death glare over in Kass' direction. Seemingly taking the hint, Kass quickly quieted down.

"Then let's hop to it, boys!" Anton ordered. "Let's move out!"

* * *

><p>Enier Wick was nothing if not a simple man. Often enjoying the simple pleasures of life as he moved into his older years, he could be found oftentimes in his household either spending time with his grandchild or relaxing with a bottle of expertly-made wine. The toll of physical strain on his body over the years was certainly noticeable, given the stress lines on his forehead and the fact that he seemed to be retiring to his bedroom earlier and earlier with each passing day.<p>

On this particular day, Enier felt drowsiness call his name much earlier than usual. Although today was both a tradition for Candle Village and one he'd been looking forward to see his granddaughter partake in, he didn't resist his body's natural urges. They often had a way of working out for the better.

As he walked over to the window to shut it and close the blinds, he noticed what was a rather peculiar sight. Just on the outskirts of the village, he could swear he made out one large mold of gray moving rather speedily toward the normally placid Candle Village.

"This can't be right… my eyesight must be going," Enier mumbled to himself, going to his nightstand and crouching down, feeling a painful crack in his back as he did so. 'Well, that's what happens when you don't move as rigorously as you used to…'

He found the drawer he was looking for and immediately opened it, rummaging through it for a solid five seconds before he found what he was looking for—his binoculars. He immediately wiped his eyes as he prepared to look through them, half-smiling to himself as years of memories rushed through him. 'Been a long while since I've looked through these…'

Going back to the window and putting said thermal binoculars to his eyes, he gaped. "Th-… those are soldiers! And what's worse, they have weapons!"

"...Could it be… the Red Ribbon Army?"

* * *

><p>"We welcome you today, young adults, to a day full of wonder. You have long awaited the chance to truly experience life as one in the working class, and today you will get that opportunity."<p>

"Yeah, because I know my dream is to slave away in a wasteless job for the next sixty years of my life…" a young blonde woman, far from dressed conservatively, snarkily remarked.

A boy, perhaps one or two years her elder, gave her what could either be described as an annoyed or half-amused laugh. "Like you have to worry. Your grandpa's got you set for life, Kara."

Glancing at her manicured nails, she hardly paid the boy next to him any attention. "So? No matter how much clout my grandfather has, it doesn't matter if he doesn't use it for the right reasons. He said taking part in Substitution Day would be," she paused and put her fingers up, "'enlightening' and 'helpful'." She laughed. "I bet it'll be anything _but _that."

Another boy nudged Kara from the side. She recognized him as Pyre, the boy she'd grown to know a_ little _better than most. "Speaking of helpful… we still on for tonight?" he asked with a flirtatious smile. "You were awesome last night, and I'd hope it wasn't a one-night show."

"If my grandfather's sleeping like the dumb rock he is, maybe," Kara boredly replied. "You weren't anything special, but you'll do for tonight."

Amidst the crowd of adolescents, a bunch of 'ooos' broke out and a few snickers of laughter snuck through at the boy's expense. Kara's reputation was well-documented amongst the young generation, but it was nothing short of a mystery to the elders—and thankfully her grandfather as well. She could deal with his old, senile ways, but the rants and lectures he was sure to give about giving her body out so freely would surely grow bothersome within the first few minutes.

The lecturer, a middle-aged man dressed in a formal robe with designs undeterminable to any who hadn't partaken in Candle Village's painfully droll history classes, cleared his throat and stared directly at Kara. "Excuse me, Miss Kara, are we letting our excitement get the best of us? Don't worry, we'll be handing out assignments very shortly."

Modestly blushing in the way she'd practiced for years on end now, she shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Mister Aramid. I won't talk again until after you're done. Please continue."

As Aramid continued to drone on about the day's historical significance, the young adults were anything but finished with their whispered chatter. That same boy who Kara had insulted, in particular, seemed to be out for his revenge. "The only place Kara ever seems to get excited is in the bedroom," Pyre fired back in a whisper, trying to gain his clout back and settle down the comments amongst the group. His face was red with a combination of embarrassment and anger. "What does she ever do besides the things she does in there, anyway?"

Kara gave the boy a half-glance before smirking at him prettily, winking at him in a way that she knew he couldn't resist. 'There's one I'm going to be rough with later. Hope he actually lasts long enough for me to actually get the chance, though.'

Suddenly, she began to hear something other than the droll voice of Aramid's speech—a myriad of voices screaming at the top of their lungs. Covering her ears, she turned her head along with the rest of the group and gaped when she saw guns within their hands.

"Oh… my god…" Kara breathlessly whispered. She suddenly wished she had the ability to take her comments about her grandfather back right about now, because she knew exactly how this was going to go.

Everyone stood silent for a good moment or two, nervously eyeing the tens of soldiers that rushed their way.

Then one person had the gall to state the obvious.

"RUN!"

In what was the most disorganized activity the civilians of Candle Village had ever partaken in, everyone broke out into a dash in whatever direction their feet took them in first. Of course, this was anything but a rational endeavor, and many were either too slow to escape the mysterious' soldiers pacing or had simply tripped on another who had chosen a similar path.

Kara was one of the latter.

"Ugh… dammit, Kara, if you couldn't wait to have me, you could've just said it…" Pyre half-joked as he looked up at the girl's body on his, feeling emotions stir within him once again. In his subconscious state, he put his hands on her hips and smiled at her.

"Shut up, idiot! We're going to die and the first thing you do is think with your body?!" Kara scowled at him. All around the village were people being hammered in the head with assault rifles, being beaten down by a series of punches and kicks… yet never shot. Kara had to wonder why, but she wasn't going to question it. Not if it gave her more time to escape.

From his position on the ground, with Kara looming over him, Pyre saw a shadow of a figure just behind the prized girl of Candle Village and gaped as he fully reentered the world of reality. "Kara, get the hell off me, there's a guy right—"

Kara didn't need to be told twice. Immediately flipping their positions - as she had grown so accustomed to while rolling around in the hay, she dryly thought - she had successfully adjusted the two so that Pyre was on top of her and in perfect position to take a pistol whip to the back of the skull. His eyes went blank as he fell unconscious, his head resting on Kara's chest and a faint bit of blood oozing out from his skull, staining her black shorts.

For once, however, the young woman didn't complain about her clothing being ruined and immediately used her feet to propel Pyre's still body up into the air and right into the soldier's stomach who had attacked the pair, knocking the wind straight out of him and leaving Kara with perhaps her greatest opportunity to escape.

That would have been, of course, if there was not a knee that immediately slammed down onto Kara's delicate arm, both dislocating it instantly and effectively cutting off her escape. She let out a primal shriek as a result, one that almost the entire village had heard. As she continued to let her vocal cords loose from the excruciating pain, she immediately felt a hand being placed onto her ruby red lips.

"Try to cut your screaming down, girl, and I won't have to kill you right now," the soldier remarked in a low, yet firm tone. His face remained stoic when compared to the other raiders, but his eyes were a giveaway of something else entirely—Kara could tell.

Despite the fact that a promiscuous past was nothing to be proud of(in general society's eyes, anyway), Kara had learned how to read a person from their eyes from her very first encounter with another boy. He didn't seem to have the same bloodlust that the others did; looking around, she watched as many cackled with glee at knocking her fellow villagers out and shouted out some rather vulgar phrases—even for her. Yet the man holding her captive seemed content with just subduing her, which either meant one of two things… and Kara really hoped it wasn't the darker option.

"Don't worry, I'm not one of those sick fucks who gets off on attacking women that way," the soldier flatly said with a knowing look. He could feel her body relax in that moment, even if she was still whimpering in pain from her injury. "We're here to get the job done and get out. If I can, I'll do my best to spare you. God knows we've killed too many more than we've had to…"

Kara didn't know what to think in that moment other than how grateful she was to whatever being out there that she'd been blessed with this anomaly of a soldier. As opposed to some of the more bloodthirsty ones, this particular one seemed to care little for carnage and destruction as opposed to efficiency and success.

"The name's Locke, by the way," he said quietly. "If you see anyone try and mass slaughter, call my name and I'll shoot them dead. Make it look like an accident."

"_All right, round 'em up! Get every single one of these guys out in the open!"_

Locke's eyes hardened. "That's Sergeant Anton. I've got to get going. Try and act out if you can. It'll do us better in the long run, got it?" he asked her, looking her dead in her now tear-filled eyes. She nodded meekly. "Good."

With that he stood up fully and began his walk to one of the nearby houses, aiming his rifle at what was surely a startled and helpless family. Before long he had them walking out of the modestly-sized household with their hands above their heads, trembling in the same way she had as they joined the long line of civilians that this army had rounded up. It wasn't long until she saw all of her fellow villagers lined up and clumped into groups, broken up into small clumps at least five feet away from one another.

It was in that moment she realized she was the odd woman out, considering her being sprawled out in the center of the village. Such a position caught the eye of a brown-haired soldier and caused him to grin.

Kara swallowed as she braced herself for what was to come, and had she not prepared herself for being picked up and tossed carelessly into the stack of unconscious bodies, she might have been knocked out right then and there. But for some diabolical reason, it seemed fate wanted her to watch on as they called out to try and find the leader of the village.

They didn't find that.

But what found them was arguably that much worse.

* * *

><p>"And just who are you supposed to be, old man?" Sergeant Anton derisively dismissed. The sight before him was one he thought he'd never see. A man past his prime in a battle jacket and shakily wielding a shotgun was one of the more humorous things he'd seen on the battlefield. "Better yet, why didn't any of my men round you up? Are you supposed to be the leader of this village or something?"<p>

"My name is Enier… and no, I am not the one you're looking for," a rough voice decayed by age rasped out. Anton actually had to bend his ear slightly if he wanted any hope of hearing him. "I won't tell you who the village elder is for your evil plot, Red Ribbon," he spat venomously.

Raising an eyebrow from his position guarding a family of four, Dolph smirked. "Well, I guess the logos gave us away… but I get the feeling you've tangled with our kind before," he knowingly said. 'The battle jacket looks familiar with that KG emblem… but I can't put my finger on where I've seen it before…'

"You could say that," cryptically answered Enier. "I'd ask you to turn around and leave now, but knowing you extremists I doubt I could ever persuade you to leave peacefully." He sounded tired, moreso than any combatant Anton had ever faced. He laughed at the seemingly empty threat.

"Is that right?" the sergeant sneered. "And what's a grandpa like you going to do against the most elite army the Earth has ever known?"

For what was the first time in a very long while, Enier's face lit up with a youthful smirk despite his obvious age. He then pointed a finger to the sky, which the soldiers followed…

...to find a myriad of helicopters encircling the village.

"Like I said, Red Ribbon, I've met your kind before!" Enier shouted over the roaring noise of the helicopters. "During my forty years of service, I've battled you all over the globe. While you were too busy gloating over your easy victory, I made a special call to King Furry himself and received authorization to bring the King's Guard here personally! You've backed yourself into a corner you won't be able to escape!"

Noticing all his soldiers immediately cocking their rifles toward Enier, Anton held his gloved hand up. "Stop!" he howled. "Forget this old fool; he's not worth killing! Focus on blasting those helicopters down before we have to deal with more than we can handle!"

* * *

><p>Within a moment's notice, the village was set alight with a cacophony of bullets, the howls of adrenaline and death encompassing the entire area whole. The burning rivalry between the King's Guard and the Red Ribbon prepared to see its next chapter unfold.<p>

* * *

><p><em>My favorite. Chapter. Ever. <em>

_Literally, I couldn't have enjoyed writing a chapter more. While I did have to take my time to think as to how I was gonna set up this initial attack on Candle Village, through a lot of thinking and planning I came up with this. Neither Enier nor Kara were actually in my outline for this chapter, but I'm glad I incorporated them. I had a great time writing both of them in this chapter, too - and I have big things planned for the King's Guard v. Red Ribbon battle next chapter. _

_Original plans called for Goku vs. Krillin to be covered in this chapter as well, but after finishing with the Tien vs. Chun fight I ultimately decided to postpone it until the following chapter. That said, we will also see the conclusion of the tournament in the following chapter, as well as the continuation of the Candle Village conflict. With King Furry now identifying the RRA by name, just how will Commander Red respond? Is Goku emotionally strong enough to defeat Krillin? What of the looming presence of Tien Shinhan, a fighter who has proven himself superior to even the mighty Master Roshi?_

_Sorry, I got a little carried away here. But anyway, there are just a few final things I wanted to note before I left you all to the Q&A._

_For one, we have Kara. She's an interesting character, one I'm glad I decided to incorporate for this chapter. It helped to breathe in a little more… personality to the actual raid itself. But anyway, I should let you all know that this is where I'm going to begin to bring in more original characters. They're not going to dominate the main story and pal around with Goku and Red, but they will be featured fairly often as the tension and conflict within the world begins to escalate. Obviously some are going to be featured more than others, though. _

_Second off, __**Red Son **_**has a TV Tropes page! I would like to thank nanaadri37 for his/her great contribution and sincerely hope that the rest of my readers will throw in a contribution here and there if they are so inclined. I'll be updating it here and there myself, but as with anything I do on this site, your cooperation would be quite appreciated. You may or may not know this, but I love the mechanics and elements behind writing and am overjoyed that I now have an outlet to show off some of them on a tropes page. Check it out at your leisure!**

_Thirdly, I have the next three chapters roughly written. I need to tweak and add some more portions to them here and there, but I just wanted to let you all know how hard I've been working on this story. Although I have a lot on my plate for January, I'll try and do a little bit of writing here and there before I can get back to comfortably relaxing in February. _

_I hope you enjoyed the New Year and are having a wonderful start to 2016!_

_**-marcirio: First, i really like your story. But i can't stop felling like some characters are missing, first is mr. Black who have yet to make a appearance, The other appearead in the begining and just disapeard, why have gero suddenly vanished from it. My main idea is that he's is using android 19 to make his android body and since that takes some time that would be why he does not appear for the last chapters, that would also explain why the doctor was not with the red ribbon army when goku destroyed in the main timeline.**_

_**Anyway keep the great work.**_

Officer Black will be shown pretty soon, actually, I just haven't felt there was a proper place to introduce him quite yet. The next chapter will actually have him interacting with Commander Red, so don't worry.

Gero has been omitted from the story for the past few chapters for the same reason. There's just nothing memorable that I could do with him that would really mean anything. Many readers of mine know this, but I hate showing characters if they're just going to stand around and do absolutely nothing. That said, he's still a main character of this story and is definitely going to be treated like such in the chapters to come.


	9. Chapter 9: Suppression

_(Just for clarification: since this is the final chapter we're going to see a World Martial Arts Tournament in for a good while, all fully italicized quotes are going to be the announcer's dialogue unless it is obviously apparent otherwise. This is so I don't have to repeatedly cut back to him and sacrifice the momentum I'm building within a scene. Thanks for your cooperation and understanding!)_

* * *

><p><strong>Tournament Saga - Part 3: Suppression <strong>

As the gong tolled, signaling the start of the match, Goku felt his heart beat faster in his chest than it ever had before. Although he'd faintly dreamed that he'd have the opportunity to see his friend again, never had he anticipated that he'd meet him in this tournament.

"I know you said no, but I'll ask you again, Goku," Krillin suddenly spoke, cutting the boy out of his thoughts. "This entire tournament, you wouldn't talk to me. I wanna know why. If I beat you, you'll speak to me again. You'll… be my friend again."

Across from him, Goku tensed. 'I never stopped being your friend, Krillin… but it's going to be a while before you can understand. The army is bigger than any of us.' He tightened his stance in response, unsure of what else to do. He wiped his eyes and steeled them, standing as straight as he possibly could. 'A tall stance makes your enemies cower in fear…'

Krillin frowned at the wordless answer, tightening his fists. "Okay… well, if that's how it is, I'm not going to hold back! I'll make you answer whether you want to or not!"

* * *

><p>From the audience, as he put the finishing touches on re-buttoning his shirt, Master Roshi bristled at the intensity Krillin exuded. 'He's never been so upset with anyone before… not even with those rotten monks back at Orin Temple. Krillin must've really taken this to heart to show off such anger.' He finally fixed his attire fully before focusing on the spiky-haired boy. 'Goku… just what secrets do you hold…?'<p>

* * *

><p>After staring at him for several long moments, the spiky-haired warrior lightly grunted. "It's over," Goku deadpanned, taking one step forward. "There's no point in continuing this any longer."<p>

"This hasn't even started!" Krillin almost childishly hollered back, subconsciously taking a step back as Goku approached him. "But if you want it to, I'll kick it off! Yaaaah!"

Gathering his courage and determination to win, Krillin rushed Goku with a left kick that was expertly blocked by the young alien warrior. It only took a second for the ex-monk to try a follow-up attack with his other leg, but the spiky-haired soldier's forearm moved in time to block it as well. He would follow up by gripping his opponent's outstretched leg and using it to hurl Krillin down to the ground with a slam, causing the bald-headed boy to gasp for air.

"_Unbelievable! Contestant Goku just completely shut down Contestant Krillin's attempt at an attack!"_

"You sure you still want to do this?" Goku stoically responded as the ex-monk straggled to his feet. "There's no shame in giving up when you can't win."

"Haaah… haah…" Krillin panted angrily, wiping some debris off his Turtle gear. "That's not the Goku I know! You always loved to have a good fight! What happened to you?!" He gestured to the boy's clothing, causing Goku to look down for the briefest of moments. "And why would you get rid of your Turtle outfit, either? That red top and blue pants look soulless!"

"Krillin, we're here to fight, not to talk," Goku firmly responded, putting his fists up as he leered at the boy. "And if you want to keep talking, I'm going to have to make it so you can't talk at all."

* * *

><p>"That's the spirit, kid!" Ambrose cheered on. "You tell that brat what for!"<p>

* * *

><p>'Could it be that man's influence? Is he the one that changed Goku so deeply…?' Roshi wondered. 'Somehow, I doubt it. Goku seems to be the one who's in charge here. But just how did they meet… and who else is involved in all of this?'<p>

* * *

><p>"All I ever asked you for was an answer, Goku!" Krillin snarled, crashing his fists together. "I wanted to know why the best friend I ever had went and abandoned me!"<p>

Goku said nothing.

"Answer me!" Krillin shrieked, fresh tears dampening his eyes. "Please, Goku! You were the best training partner I could've asked for! Why did you have to go?!"

The spiky-haired boy did little else other than watch his former friend's body convulse with sobs, the liquid pouring from his eyes dropping down onto the tiled tournament ground as he continued to let out all the emotions he had kept suppressed for so long.

"I should have left sooner."

"W-What-" Just before Krillin could speak any more, he was swiftly silenced by a swift knee to the back of the head. His eyes bugged out as he staggered forward, taking two steps almost drunkenly before he fell to his knees and, ultimately, to the floor.

"That's all you needed to know, Krillin," Goku murmured to his unconscious form. 'If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have this emotion holding me back…'

* * *

><p>From his spot against the wall, the other finalist smirked in amusement. "Well, well. The boy knows just which moves to emulate. Facing him in the finals is going to be interesting, that much is for sure…"<p>

"More interesting than you'd think."

Tien turned his head in interest. Upon doing so, he scowled. "Hmm? And just what business do _you _have talking to me…?"

* * *

><p>"Kass, cover me!" Streb ordered, reloading his rifle with the back of a house as his only protection. The newer of the two soldiers leaned his rifle over and fired off a few semi-automatic shots, burying a bullet into a King's Guard soldier as he collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Another had the awareness and reflex to drop down before tossing a grenade in the general direction of where he'd heard the bullets emanate from, the cold metal CLINK of the grenade sounding as it rolled toward them.<p>

"F-Fuck!" Streb gaped, seeing that the thing was ready to burst. "Get this thing-"

Thankfully for him and the now reloading Kass, Dolph had slid in and, with a mighty hurl, threw it right back. The frag sailed back toward its original direction, which exploded just before it could make contact with its original owner and instantly snatched his life away. Dolph watched it with a hint of a smirk. "Streb, I know you're the field expert of us all. Start showin' it."

He immediately spun around and began running back toward his camping position, leaving Streb with a hint of a twitch on his face. "I swear… that Dolph. Such a show-off."

Even still, he turned back to the other occupant of his position and snarled. "Be careful next time, Kass, or you're going to get us both killed! You got that?!" He didn't wait for a reply, either, as he was back to using his machine gun and firing the instant he locked onto the signature jacket of the King's Guard.

Kass, despite his blunder, swallowed heavily and nodded. "Y-Yes, sir! I won't let you down!" From the other side of the house, he looked over the edge and immediately went back to work.

Commander Enier fired his rifle with great precision, felling a red-haired soldier with three sharp bullets before he felt a bullet sink through his arm. He howled as he felt the familiar moist sensation that accompanied blood and dropped his rifle, diving behind a sea of King's Guard soldiers who had immediately moved in to protect him. "G-Grgh…"

"Commander, are you alright?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Yes, son, I'm fine," the strong-willed commander responded, though not without a wince, "but this body just isn't as able in its older years…"

Not looking away from the target at hand, another soldier responded, "Take it easy, Commander Enier. We can handle the bulk of it from here. Just rest."

Just before Enier could protest such an order, he felt his jacket rumble with a voice._ "Commander Enier, how's it going out there?" _

Parting the side of his jacket, Enier took the microphone into his hand and responded, "the King's Guard has responded well enough, King Furry, but we hardly seem to be making any ground!" Enier roared into his radio. "I know we don't have authorization to bring in that many troops for just one village, but despite outnumbering them they seem to have the advantage!"

"_H-How so, Commander?" _Enier could sense the monarch's curiosity through his voice. _"Last I remember, the Red Ribbon was nothing short of a nuisance we put down every now and then… how could they have gotten so much more efficient?"_

"They just seem to have better reaction time than ever before," Enier breathed back into his mic. "For every soldier we're killing, they've taken at least four of ours. It's… frightening."

"_That's… concerning," _Furry answered. Enier waited as the king seemed to mull something over in his head, knowing he could do little else with his injured arm. _"I'll send a few video drones to record the battle. If we can analyze their technique, we can counter them accordingly the next time they make a move."_

"S-So you're writing us off as dead?!" Enier gaped, though immediately kept quiet as he eyed the soldiers protecting him. Thankfully, none of them seemed to have heard. "K-King Furry, please… with more reinforcements, we could bring this force down right now!"

"_And risk losing more of our troops just to win one measly battle?" _

Enier paled. Was the King really saying he'd already given up hope? _"Commander, this is the beginning of something greater. I refuse to relinquish the Earth to the Red Ribbon just because I granted you special treatment!"_

"But, my King…"

"_If what you say is true, we've lost too many already. I will have to look into other methods of preparation. Commander, I hate to do this to you, but I must leave right now. If you can, flee and notify me of your location; I'll pick up anyone who manages to live. And if you can't... thank you for your service."_

That lit a fire under Enier. Although he knew it made the most sense tactically and would have had no problem accepting this reality beforehand, this time was different. He had a grandchild to save. "Kara… I won't lose you like I lost my son!"

Taking his spare pistol, he ignored the pain in his arm and fully stood, firing four shots and impeccably bringing down the same number of soldiers with them. He could feel the bullets begin to shift toward him, though this time he was prepared and did a tuck-and-roll in a motion that a man his age had no business doing. All the while, his eyes scanned the battlefield for his granddaughter, but he had no luck finding them amongst the villagers.

He took a deep breath. 'Men… I'm sorry for this…'

Turning around and toward the King's Guard, he cupped his hands to his mouth. "Rush in now! We've got them on the ropes!"

With a thunderous roar of approval, the soldiers began to advance and make the battle more up close and personal. With a heavy sigh, Enier continued on his own separate path alongside the village's flank. 'Kara's well-being has to come first. Even if it means leaving all these men to die…'

* * *

><p>"<em>Okay! Let the final commence! Contestant Tien will take on Contestant Goku! Fight!"<em>

Ignoring the roar of the crowd, Tien slid neatly into his fighting stance. Tien, crouched in his fighting stance, stared at an oddly relaxed Goku. His arms hung loosely at his sides and his legs were not bent in the slightest. "So… you're not going to take a stance?"

"And let you dictate how to fight me?" A hint of a smirk curled Goku's lip. "I've watched your fight with Jackie Chun. I know you like to read your opponent before kicking off a fight. So I'm not going to let you."

Although he attempted to hide it, Tien knew that the boy could see he was impressed. "Not bad. But if you know my style half as well as you think I do, I'm sure you know that there's much more to me than that."

"I'm aware," Goku tightened his right fist and held it up. "I'm not going to be able to knock you out as easily as I did Krillin." A pang of sorrow rushed through him immediately afterward, but he swallowed it down in favor of smirking confidently at his opponent. "But you would be an idiot to think you could actually defeat me."

"W-Why, you little…. rreeaaah!" Tien howled, blitzing toward Goku at his top speed. Just before he could reach Goku, however, the boy's image faded into static lines as he phased out of the way. Tien swung with his fist, but his brain already knew it was too late before he'd even connected with his original target.

Unfortunately for his opponent, Tien could already feel the change in the air pressure as his opponent descended down toward him. With a confident smirk, he too disappeared, moving right above the poor kid who thought he'd had him all figured out. As the boy's eyes widened, it was clear he never anticipated his own trick being used against him. He could do little else but watch as Tien brought his fist down on his skull in a spiking motion, hammering him down to the ground.

"_What an attack! Contestant Goku's been sent crashing down to the tournament ground! But I have a feeling that's not going to be enough to put this kid down…"_

Tien knew that the announcer was right. With his level of intensity, the triclops knew that he could render the average martial artist unconscious for the remainder of their lives. Unfortunately, he knew very well that this Goku kid was anything _but _average and that his best chance at ending this fight was to make it quick.

'I'll just have to ring him out; he's close enough to the edge of the stage as it is,' the triclops determined. 'This freak may have all the power in the world, but it's nothing if he can't outsmart me.'

Wasting little time, the Crane-styled fighter swiftly descended to the ground and began running toward the straggling Goku, who was in the process of pushing himself up off of one knee. Just as he looked up, Tien gave him a sinister smirk before kneeing him in the skull with everything he had.

If it had been anyone else –anyone at all – Tien could've easily ascertained victory with that very attack

However, seeing as how his opponent was Goku, the motion did little more than make the boy's head jerk backward.

"N-No!" Tien snarled, gripping the spiky-haired child by his hair with either of his hands. "I don't care how strong you are; you can't tank my strongest attacks just like that!" Repeatedly, he smashed his knee into Goku's face, striking the boy at least three or four times before it was obvious that his nose had broken—the spewing blood that stained Tien's pant leg made it all too apparent. He could hear the frightful reactions of the audience around him, but he continued his actions despite it all.

* * *

><p>"W-What a monster!" Bulma shrieked from the sidelines. "He's going to smash that boy's face in!" After she'd watched the savage sight for as long as she could bear, she craned her neck toward them to see their reactions. She felt goosebumps when they didn't even seem to flinch. "What's the matter with you guys? Don't you see he could die?!"<p>

"Judging from what Master Roshi has told me about this boy, Bulma," came an uncharacteristically serious Gohan, "It might be for the best."

"There's no way a child could take so much pain and still walk, much less fight!" Bulma just barely managed to sneak a peek back at the sight, cringing in horror when she saw the attack was still going on. Some of the more bloodthirsty audience members had even been counting along as Tien's kneecap reunited with Goku's face.

"If he was an ordinary child, I would agree with you," Master Roshi remarked. A faint scowl pursed his lips. "But he's anything but. Bulma, you should feel no pain for this child. Not anymore. The world would be better off if Tien Shinhan actually _did _manage to defeat him."

"You're saying that the Goku boy is going to come back from this?" Bulma asked.

Roshi remained silent.

* * *

><p>"Thirteen! Fourteen! Fifteen!"<p>

Tien cockily smirked as he continued to drive his knee into the boy's head, much to the delight of the more violent spectators. "What were you saying about my chances before, Goku?! You think I can't beat some arrogant kid like you?!"

"_Tien!" _came a shrill voice, immediately catching the triclops' attention. He did not cease his attack on Goku, however; if anything, his master's voice in his head only made him strike even harder.

"_Yes, Master Shen?" _

"_You have this boy beat already! Finish it before he has a chance to turn this around! We both know that anything is possible with this brat!"_

"_I understand, Master Shen," _Tien telepathically responded. With one final strike, Tien let the boy's head go. He pathetically - almost lifelessly - slumped backward, his body sprawled across the cool, hard tile as his head hung over the edge of the tournament stage.

"_This… I have no words, ladies and gentlemen. This fight is over."_

Tien stared at his opponent for five long seconds, his eyes sizing up the boy for any signs of consciousness. His chest was rising and falling rhythmically, his eyes seemed etched closed, and his body hadn't moved in the slightest since the Crane student had dropped him. A half-smirk came to Tien's face as he relished in the sight of his defeated opponent.

"_I've done what you asked… Roshi."_

* * *

><p>The Turtle Hermit wasn't proud of what he'd done. Really, he wasn't. He had long dreamed of the day when a bevy of up-and-coming martial artists would prove themselves strong enough to protect the Earth's prosperity.<p>

But if one had proven themselves to be a danger to society… Roshi knew he had to step in.

It was with that mindset that he opened up the newly formed telepathic link and nodded, if only to himself. _ "You've done well, Tien," _the Turtle Hermit responded, sealing his face off from demonstrating any emotion. _"You've done well." _Trying best not to think of how ashamed he was, Roshi recalled what had brought upon this turn of events...

* * *

><p>"<em>Hmm? And just what business do you have talking to me…?"<em>

"_It's about your opponent. You're getting into a fight that you may not be able to finish."_

"_Is that right?" Tien amusedly asked, smirking. "After all that praise you gave me, Roshi, I'm starting to wonder if I really _did _hit you too hard." _

_Roshi bristled. "Now is not the time for jokes, Tien Shinhan. I meant everything I said about you. I honestly believed I could sit back and let the finals of this tournament play out fairly." A grim expression overcame him. "But I'm afraid that's not true any longer. Goku's performance against Krillin has frightened me. He used to be an innocent child, so carefree… but he's become an emotionless monster, able to suppress his emotions at any moment."_

"_So what do you want me to do about it?" Tien responded, folding his arms. "I don't see what you're getting at."_

"_If possible…" Roshi took a deep breath. "I want you to make it so he'll never fight again. I don't care what kinds of methods you have to take to do it. If you can neutralize him, it means that he'll be forced to think with his brain instead of the power he's demonstrated today… and I'm sure that, with the right understanding, he can become the boy he used to be again."_

"_You do realize that means I'll have to treat this like a deathmatch as opposed to a fight, right?" Tien warned the old hermit. "I have no problem with doing such a thing, but I want you to be clear on that. I'm not going to sugarcoat this, Roshi… if you want me to do this, I may even kill the boy in the ring. I hope you're prepared to accept that."_

_Roshi swallowed, hating himself more and more with each word. "I am. I would sooner the boy rest in peace than have him and his violent power destroy him on the inside."_

"_Well, well, well…" Tien couldn't help but laugh. "After that whole sermon on how I'm a monster, it turns out that I'm your only hope in this situation." He watched as Roshi tensed, but Tien waved him off. "Relax, old-timer. I've already accomplished all I wanted to in defeating you and your students. Consider this the one token of gratitude I have for you giving me such a good fight. We're even after this."_

"_As much as it pains me to say it, I guess I have no control over who you want to be." Roshi swallowed. All his work today had gone down the gutter. "It's a deal."_

* * *

><p>Tien smirked at the boy's fallen form, folding his arms. "Well, kid, I can't say I didn't warn you of who you're dealing with. If only you'd known how to use your power better, I'm sure you would've given me a better fight."<p>

Suddenly, he gasped with horror. He felt something snare around his leg. Looking downward, all three of his eyes widened. 'H-His tail!'

With one motion, Tien found himself spinning in mid-air. Through his distorted vision, he could see Goku immediately flip up and thrust kick him beautifully in the chest, sending the triclops flying back into the wall. The momentum with which he met the well-crafted stone structure even caused him to fall straight on his face right afterward, howling in pain.

By the time he'd managed to hoist his head even slightly upward, he could make out a pair of blue pants. Following them upward, he came with the horrifying sight of Goku's bloodied face, which shimmered down the misty substance even now. His nose was clearly out of place, broken beyond belief, yet that seemed to bother the child little. Instead, he watched as Tien feebly tried to stand using the boy as leverage; the minute Tien had managed to make it back to his knees, Goku slammed his head into the taller fighter's own with all he had, busting him wide open as well as he fell back to the ground.

"You gave me the chance to read you, Tien," Goku ominously remarked. "And now any chance you had at winning is gone. Give up now."

"If you think it's that easy to make me give in, you're out of your mind!" Tien snarled, thrusting one index finger toward the boy who loomed over him. He could feel his arm trembling, "Let's see you take this dead-on! Dodon… Ray!"

A thin, pencil-like beam of light soared out of Tien's fingertip, crashing into Goku with the intensity of a speeding train. Goku immediately raised both of his hands to his chest and grunted as he was sent skidding back by the potency of the attack.

'If I'm not careful, this'll burn a hole straight through my hands!' Goku internally grimaced, clenching his teeth. With all the strength he could gather, he let out a fierce shout and shot his hands upward, deflecting the beam harmlessly into the sky, upon where it faded out into nothingness.

But Tien had already sprung back up and elbowed the boy straight in the chest, capitalizing on the open position Goku had left himself in. He followed up with a forearm to the side of the head, but Goku powered through the impact and responded in kind with a forearm of his own. The two began to trade blows back and forth, growls and winces of pain rippling through the battlefield.

Then, suddenly, Tien's eyes bugged out. With nothing short of a breathless curse, he began to fall forward. Goku merely sidestepped him and watched with a smirk as he fell to the floor.

"_Contestant Tien has suddenly fallen forward! What did Contestant Goku do?"_

"For every hit you landed on me, I gave you three," Goku confidently answered, watching as Tien clutched at his side. "It's like I told you, Tien: you don't stand a chance."

"Urrgh…" the triclops groaned out, heaving in pain. "There's still… one last shot… and I know it'd beat you…" From his position on the ground, Tien knew that the boy couldn't see his smirk.

Goku raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Really? And what would that be?"

* * *

><p>From his spot on the sidelines, Ambrose scowled. "Don't you fall for it, brat!" The auburn-haired soldier knew better than to freely give an opponent opportunity to strike. "You've handled this just fine; get it over with and let's get out of here!"<p>

When Ambrose saw Goku remain perfectly still, he felt a vein pop up in his forehead. "The little fucker wants to pretend he didn't hear me, does he?" Then, suddenly, he just shrugged and folded his arms. "Oh well. Not my fault when he loses."

* * *

><p>Pulling himself to his feet, Tien couldn't believe just how easily the boy was playing into his hands. His opponent clearly had victory within his reach, but the triclops wasn't going to have any second thoughts about snatching it away. "My… ultimate attack… the Tri-Beam…" He nearly tripped over himself, but stabilized himself in time. "You won't stand a chance… against it if I use full power…"<p>

"You have exactly one minute to use that move, and not a minute longer," Goku firmly answered. "You do realize the only reason I'm giving you this chance is because you're the strongest I've ever faced. When I beat you, I want the entire world to know that I exhausted all your little tricks."

Tien couldn't help but chuckle lowly to himself. "Trust me… if you even _survive _this attack, I promise you that you deserve this victory…" With that he began to ascend to the heavens, slowly levitating upwards and upwards until he reached the clouds. much to the surprise and amazement of the audience around him.

* * *

><p>"<em>It appears as if Tien Shinhan is levitating! We saw him use this technique once before to narrowly escape elimination, but who would've thought he'd be able to actually <em>fly high into the sky_?!" _

* * *

><p>'If he's going into the sky… this attack must really be something...' thought Goku to himself, able to do nothing but watch as his opponent snapped his arms together and charged a golden cascade of light in them. Even still, he felt a half-smirk tug at his lips. 'I'm getting excited… this might actually be worth taking on!'<p>

* * *

><p>"Tien, no!" cried out Roshi, already recognizing that his cries were futile—regardless of Tien hearing his pleas or not, he knew that his usage of the Tri-Beam Cannon was imminent. He could understand just how personal this battle had become to him, but even he surely had to understand just how powerful the Tri-Beam Cannon was as an attack. "Don't do this! You're going to destroy everything around us!"<p>

"Th-There's no way he's gonna actually go through with this, right?!" exclaimed Bulma, fearful of the raw, unadulterated power being formed right before her very eyes.

"He can't…" mumbled Oolong to himself, trying to convince himself that Tien wouldn't take such drastic measures to win. "Tien Shinhan! You big muscle-packed idiot! Don't you go and kill us all now! I'm too young to become bacon!"

"I-I'm afraid we can't help that, Oolong," came the quiet, yet insightful, reply of Gohan, who could do nothing but stare at the huge amalgamation of energy. "It's too late now. We can't fly up there, much less manage to actually stop him before he launches the attack."

"B-But…" Oolong tried to retort, but soon realized Gohan was right—there was no stopping Tien now that he'd gotten so far into the process of setting up his Tri-Beam. "Can't we try_ anything at all?"_

He was met with nothing other than dead silence, providing him with his answer. All they could do was leave their fate in Tien's hands and wait…

* * *

><p>Back upward in the sky, Tien's three eyes stayed locked onto the arena as he charged his energy, knowing that this would be the ultimate and final attack. No matter what, he would either seal his opponent's fate with his Tri-Beam or give him the perfect opportunity to win the match.<p>

He didn't care that the attack would take years off his life due to it drawing on his life force, nor did he care that he was about to sacrifice months and months of constructors' hard work on the ring—what mattered was attaining victory, just as he vowed to do just a few minutes prior.

With a shout of pure power, he began to spread his arms apart, a golden cacophony of light forming between either of his arms. Then, concentrating more power into this large mass of energy, he formed his hands in a diamond-resembling shape, the energy within his palms now adjusting itself into the same geometric shape. 'I have to use enough energy to destroy the ring in its full entirety… but if I slip up and use too much power, I could destroy everything in sight. This has to be perfect...'

As he stared down at the ring through the triangle-like formation of his hands, he locked on further and watched as Goku took a defensive stance, seemingly preparing to block his ultimate attack.

'Heh! That boy's truly too far in over his head if he thinks he can tank this one,' Tien concluded, tendrils of raw energy continuing to arc up and down his hands. 'There's no other option—I'll destroy him entirely if he's stupid enough to stay there!'

Just then, he realized it was ready to be fired. Shutting his two front eyes, his third staying locked onto his opponent, he took aim and prepared for the end.

"TRI-BEAM…" Tien shouted, the high-pitched squeal of his attack growing ever louder as it shone ominously above the skies, filling them with a yellow hue of raw power. "HAAAAH!"

At that precise moment, he fired the blast, the diamond-resembling blast freefalling towards the ground, and subsequently, towards his opponent. Its raw power could be seen and felt by everyone in the general vicinity, eliciting screams and wails from the audience as they tried to protect themselves from the incoming attack.

* * *

><p>"Tien, no!" cried out Chiaotzu, already knowing it was too late to stop him. All he could do was trust Tien, as he always had, and hope that he hadn't been too blinded by pride to realize he could've very well just sacrificed his own life for nothing more than a championship. But at the same time, Chiaotzu knew a true battle meant everything to his friend; there was simply no in-between for him. In a way, he understood that he had to do this.<p>

Next to him, Shen cackled evilly. "Yes! That's right, Tien! Demonstrate the true power of the Crane and why we are unstoppable!"

* * *

><p>"HAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Tien cried as the large attack continued to arc downwards toward the ring, nearly threatening to exhaust himself. But regardless of his fatigue, he kept on pressing down the attack, knowing that this was a gamble he simply had to take.<p>

It soon collided with the ring and swallowed it whole in a display of awesome power, encompassing the ground and shredding each and every tile apart with the raw energy behind it. The resulting explosion hurled debris and dust everywhere, causing the viewers and the announcer to shriek vehemently.

And then, just a few seconds later, the ring of the tournament and all that was in it was suddenly no more. Its raw power had decimated everything in its wake, nearly expanding to destroy the arena itself. Luckily for the spectators there, Tien had been able to accurately predict the amount of energy he'd needed to achieve his goal.

The blast had left a gaping hole where the fighting grounds once were, leaving absolutely nothing but a large, empty crater of darkness. The spectators gaped in both astonishment and awe, unable to believe that one man could contain so much power within him.

But there was one thing that everyone was able to notice: Goku, the young prodigy who had quite clearly dominated the triclops through this entire battle, was no longer present. He was simply… gone.

* * *

><p>"W-Where's Goku?!" exclaimed Bulma fearfully, unwilling to accept that the boy had been swallowed whole by the Tri-Beam. After all she'd heard about him, she'd hoped that the boy would have the chance to see the light again. "H-He can't be…"<p>

"I hate to be the pessimist here, guys," said Oolong as he tried to stare into the gaps of the freshly-made crater, "but I don't see how anyone could've survived such a powerful attack!"

"I-I think you're right…" murmured Gohan to himself, slowly recognizing the probability of Goku surviving had decreased with each and every passing second. "Not even Master Roshi, myself, or even _Goku _would've been able to generate so much power."

"I-I…" Roshi began, bowing his head in both a combination of sorrow and anger. "I was wrong… about the both of them..." His poor judgement had just cost one of his students his life, which stung worse than any physical blow could've. 'I know I accepted this as a possibility… but was it right? Goku… did I make a mistake?'

* * *

><p>"Hah… hah…" panted Tien in exasperation, feeling the side-effects of utilizing such a powerful blast so quickly. 'Was he able to escape that Tri-Beam Cannon? I never saw him move once I locked onto the ring… yet I wouldn't count against him being able to escape at the last second. But where could he have<em>—<em>'

Just then, out of nowhere, Goku leapt into the air across from him, stirring up more gusts of wind as he did so. A small grin crept up his face as he saw Tien's shock and awe written all over his face, amazed that he could do the impossible and keep himself afloat. "Surprised?"

A stunned grin growing on his expression, Tien let out a small laugh of excitement_—_it had been quite a while since a fight had given him this much of a thrill. "You're a freak of nature, aren't you?! I guess, in the end, I can't say I'm surprised…" the triclops then smirked deviously, realizing his advantage. "...but you're fighting on borrowed time here. There's no way you can last more than ten seconds in the air against me, especially when you don't know how to fly! I could just float in place and let you drop down from here!"

"You're right. I don't have much time up here." Goku extended his finger outward, pointing it directly at Tien's chest. "So now that you've shown me a trick of your own, allow me to repay the favor. Hyaaaaah…

"Dodon… Ray!"

The same attack Tien had fired off before came soaring right back at him, leaving him flabbergasted. "H-How?! There's no way—" He was immediately cut off by the blast growing dangerously close, forcing him into gathering all his remaining strength and mirroring what Goku had done before in thrusting his hands outward. However, Goku merely grinned at the sight and shot forth another pulse of power into the thin ray of light, detonating it with a final, decisive shout.

As the smoke cleared from the impact of the attack, the triclops could be seen falling lifelessly toward the ground.

"I win," Goku confidently remarked, basking in the sight of his falling opponent before beginning to soar down toward the earth himself. "And it's only a matter of time before the Red Ribbon Army wins, too."

* * *

><p>"Hurry up, girl. We don't have much time."<p>

Limping along with her broken arm in tow, wincing all the while, Kara seethed at the anomaly of a soldier. "Why are we even here, anyway?" She knew this area very well—the dank nature of this cavern was all too familiar to her. This was the Cave of the Infernos, the most sacred natural landmark of Candle Village. She was more impressed that he'd known about its existence without her having to tell him about it.

"Like I said, girl, I would rather prevent the number of deaths today from being any higher than it has to. And like I told you before… my name is Locke." He gestured toward a small boulder. "Sit."

Slowly easing herself against the cold, hard earth, Kara slid down and let out a sigh she didn't know she'd been holding. "I can't believe this," she remarked, almost with a morose laughter about her tone.

"Believe what?" Locke responded, lifting an eyebrow.

"You. Or any of this…" Kara closed her eyes. "I should've been dead right then and there, but you saved me from being another casualty from a stray bullet. Why bother with me?"

Locke folded his arms as he set his rifle down. "You seemed different. You proved yourself more capable than others when you used that other boy to save your own skin. I guess I admire people who can defend themselves instead of just completely panicking."

Content to ignore the fact that she originally _had _gone into a frenzy alongside the rest of her villagers, Kara nodded. "Um… okay. But I still don't get why you'd leave the battlefield to just save a life."

"It goes back to a few years ago, if you must know," Locke began, just beginning to lean against the cavern wall. "During a battle with this very same military unit, I—"

"Kara!"

Upon hearing the gruff rumble of Commander Enier's voice, Locke immediately armed his rifle and aimed at the elderly man in one fell swoop. "Don't move a heartbeat closer, Enier, or I'll kill you where you stand!"

"You have my granddaughter, you heathen!" Enier roared, aiming his black-coated pistol right at Locke's skull. "You'd best let her go peacefully, lest I send you to the Other World!"

"G-Grandfather, you don't have to worry!" Kara immediately chastised her grandfather, finding the strength within her to fully stand and walk in the center of the two. Both gaped in surprise, but Kara stood firm. "Locke isn't a bad guy, I promise! He saved me from dying in Candle Village! He won't cause us any harm!"

"I could never promise a lack of violence to a commander of the King's Guard."

Kara gasped, whirling around to see Locke holding firm. "Y-You wouldn't…"

"But I would. Kara, I promised you that no harm would come to those who aren't directly opposed to the Red Ribbon. That does not apply to you." He aimed just over her shoulder, watching as Enier adjusted his aim to line up with his own. "But it does to your grandfather."

"I couldn't care less what problems you have with me, Red Ribbon," Enier barked. "All I want is for my granddaughter to be safe and sound."

Suddenly, Kara felt a weight come over her and was about to scream, but she immediately found a caucasian hand covering her mouth and pulling her closer to her mystery assailant. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes again as her broken arm was jerked behind her back, her shrieks muffled.

"D-Dolph!" Locke exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Keeping a firm grip on Kara from behind, the bleach-blonde soldier glared at his comrade harshly. He recklessly dragged his capture back into the center of the standoff, hissing with disdain. "I could've sworn I saw you leading this girl out from the corner of my eye, so I followed you to investigate. It's not unlike you to try and save a life or two, but to abandon us in the heat of battle is simply unexcusable. I should have you killed for this!"

"As my best friend, you know my feelings about unnecessary murder, Dolph," Locke adamantly stood his ground. "And they will not change, no matter what. Our problem is with the old man, not the girl."

"Locke, haven't you ever heard of something called a hostage?" Dolph condescendingly remarked. "The old fart won't shoot me if I have his grand—GAH!"

Having been so preoccupied with his friend, Dolph failed to notice as Kara suddenly brought the back of her leg upwards, smashing against his groin in what was easily one of the most painful injuries he'd ever endured during his service in the army. Immediately forced into releasing his grip on Kara, he fell to the floor in pain and was helpless to stop Kara from scavenging a pistol off his body.

With said pistol, she immediately pivoted around and looked back toward Locke. Such a motion immediately caused her to experience a rippling wave of pain, but she remained steady in her stance. "Locke, put the gun down! If you even try and kill my grandpa, you'll be dead in an instant! He's a commander for a reason!"

"Kara…" Locke grimaced. "Perhaps Dolph was right. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered trying to save you. I should have only figured you'd turn on me when the timing was right."

"I don't want to kill you, Locke," Kara honestly responded, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks from a combination of all the physical and mental punishment she'd endured. "But you're _not _killing my grandfather."

"My beef is not with Enier himself," the soldier responded, "I just simply won't allow any of the King's Guard to stand in our way." He turned to look directly at Enier. "If you swear to end your relationship with the King's Guard, I have no issues with letting you and your granddaughter leave peacefully."

Enier bristled at the suggestion. "You're the one who's outnumbered, and yet you're trying to bargain your way out of this?" Despite his outward voicings, Enier had to admit that his granddaughter's being in the dead middle of this showdown complicated the matter greatly. He knew he couldn't ask her to move, lest he give away his eagerness to shoot, yet her body almost acted as a shield to the soldier himself. For the moment, he knew he was powerless. "I won't have it! You stole my son from me, Red Ribbon; I could never willingly submit to monsters like you!"

"It was his fault for standing against our might!" Locke passionately roared. "We've been gracious enough to open our ranks to any man interested in joining! Your son simply made the wrong choice!"

Eyes bloodshot and filled with a rage he hadn't felt in decades, Enier threw aside his reservations and aimed his weapon at the soldier, yelling "You son of a—Kara, get down!"

A gunshot rang through the old man's ears, blood spraying everywhere.

However, it was not that of Locke's…

...but his very own.

Gasping in both shock and disbelief, Enier collapsed to the ground with a heavy THUD, his old and tired lungs desperately trying to suck in as much air as they possibly could. Yet he knew from his experience as a soldier that such a shot – directly to the neck – was nothing short of fatal.

"Kara… why…?" he managed to choke out before a spray of blood got caught in his throat, causing him to wheeze and splutter the substance in a puddle right next to him. He felt a twitch run through his body. "H-How…"

With a deceptively beautiful smirk, Kara turned to face her grandfather fully, her one functional hand resting neatly on her hip alongside her gun. "So sorry, grandpa. I guess I'm a bad shot." She laughed, a sound he used to find so beautiful but now found horrifically disturbing. "Hahahaha. You want the truth?" she almost sweetly asked him.

"You were a tool to me, grandfather. Your usefulness was tuckering out with each passing day. I just sped up the process of getting rid of you."

Enier retched once more. He wasn't sure if it was his own disgust at his granddaughter being a turncoat or the physical trauma that the bullet in his skin bestowed upon him. "Y-You were… such a…"

"Good girl?" Kara threw her head back. "If I haven't heard that one all the time." Focusing back in on her grandfather, Kara grinned. "That was all a lie, old man. I'm still amazed you didn't see through it sooner. I used you for your money, your wealth… but you hardly gave me the life I wanted to live. Perhaps my new friends will be a little more… accommodating of a woman like me."

With that, she turned back toward Locke and leaned closer toward him, staring into his eyes for the briefest of moments before pressing her lips to his in a kiss. He was certainly taken aback by it, but he didn't resist, ensnaring an arm around her slim waist as she sighed into the kiss.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Enier stared at her in horror before he lost his grip on life, his eyes glazing over and his head lolling to the side. She curled her lip in a smirk as she immediately broke away from Locke and stared at her now deceased grandfather.

"Don't read too much into that kiss, by the way," she called back toward Locke while still admiring her handiwork. "I don't exactly _do _relationships. But you are still a very nice boy. One of the first I've met."

'Her entire demeanor… it's changed in a heartbeat…' Locke thought to himself, unable to do little else more than look on in awe. However, he refocused himself quickly and cleared his throat. "And just what am I supposed to do with you? You killed one of the King's Guard commanders, which I'm grateful for… but what will you do now?"

Kara looked back at him out of the corner of her eye. "Are you seriously grateful?"

Locke had no reason to lie to her. "Yes. As I told you, I only harbor ill will toward the King's Guard. Anyone who helps me in causing their deaths is to be commended."

"Okay. Then get me into the Red Ribbon Army," she bluntly answered.

The normally tranquil soldier recoiled. "W-What?!" he exclaimed. "Surely you know that Commander Red only employs men in his army! Colonel Violet is the one exception!"

"Make me the second," she almost icily commanded. "I'm sure your commander would be more than happy to know that I was the one to kill Commander Enier. That's almost worthy enough to get me in alone."

Suddenly, she heard a faint, yet present chorus of laughter. Turning her head, she watched as Dolph slowly made his way back to his feet, howling all the while.

"And why would they believe your story?" Dolph cackled, taking stagger breaths to try and ease the burning pain Kara had dealt him. "After all, this is the story I could use to get promoted! There's no way I'll pass this up!"

Kara grinned mischievously. "And when they find out you got kicked in the balls by a pretty little girl like me, do you really think your officers would promote you?" She giggled. "No, I think you're going to help me along with this little induction ceremony. Because if you don't, your reputation is ruined." She looked toward the opening of the Cave of the Infernos and began walking, nursing her hurt arm but still making sure to sway her hips from side to side as she did so.

"D-Dude…" Dolph gaped, looking back at Enier's fallen form to Kara for the briefest of moments. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

"We have a new recruit, Commander Enier is dead, and I'm almost positive we've excavated what we need to from Candle Village." Locke cracked a smile. "What's not to love?"

* * *

><p>"<em>After disappearing from sight for so long, Tien fell out of the sky and straight out of bounds! With all the wacky stuff that's happened during this tournament, what a fitting end this is to the twenty-second World Martial Arts Tournament! With that performance, ladies and gentlemen, your champion is Goku!"<em>

A thunderous roar of applause rang through the tournament arena as they waited for their new world champion to descend to the ground, yet no one was in sight even two minutes later.

"_Ummmm… odd, but Champion Goku doesn't seem to be appearing…"_

He saw a faint zigzag rush past him and into the preparations room, causing him to comically spin in place. _"Folks, I'm willing to bet that's our champion in Goku! He must be a little camera shy… but don't worry, we'll be right back!"_

* * *

><p>Goku had bigger priorities than to bask in his celebration with a bunch of strangers he hardly even knew. Instead, he ran straight to the back and slammed right into Ambrose with the force of a truck, immediately bowling both over.<p>

"Didja see that, Ambrose? I won! I really did it! I'm the strongest in the world!"

Ambrose immediately shoved the boy off him, but allowed a small smirk to shine through. 'So the kid really is in there… buried under a bunch of training. But he can have this moment. He deserves it after that performance.'

"Damn straight, Goku. Now, let's hightail it out of here before the press gets involved. We don't want you getting suckered into interviews, that's for sure."

"Yeah! Commander Red'll want to hear all about this one!" Goku exclaimed, brimming with excitement. "I proved I'll be able to lead the army by winning… maybe now Commander Red will trust me enough to lead an entire operation!"

"I'm sure he will, kid," Ambrose affirmed, patting the kid's head. "I'm proud of you too; keep that in mind. Not many people really earn my respect anymore. Means a lot, even if I'm not some commander."

For the smallest of moments, Goku felt a twinge of his previous self surge through him. It reminded him of what it was like to feel happy for himself, and not for the success or pleasure of others. Although he regrettably had to push the feeling down, a small part of him admitted that he never wanted such a warm sensation to cease.

Such a musing was broken by a sudden rumble throughout the tournament building, followed by a rather masculine shout. Goku immediately picked up on it with his advanced Saiyan hearing, shooting the quickest of glances at Ambrose before he sped off in its general direction.

"W-Wait, Goku!" Ambrose reached out a hand toward him feebly, but he knew he was already too late. It didn't help matters that the blonde announcer was quickly approaching him, microphone and all in hand. He immediately spat on the ground. "What do you want, loser?"

"_E-Excuse me, sir, but I happened to notice that you were the one who took Goku to this tournament. If you could give us any words about your relationship with—"_

Ambrose shook his hand to stop the stinging sensation that always accompanied his right hook. He immediately smirked at the unconscious announcer below him. "I never liked the media anyway."

* * *

><p>Goku had made it to the source of the shout, and what he found surprised him to the very core. One of Krillin's associates - Gohan, if he remembered his name right - was valiantly trying to defend himself from a winged beast's onslaught.<p>

Immediately making his decision on who to side with, Goku leapt into the fray and caught the monster with a quick leg to the jaw, sending him flying back until he kicked off the wall and rushed back at him with a swipe. Just narrowly, Goku avoided the deathly claw, but a few strands of his spiky hair fell off as a result. The monster snarled in frustration before he raised his leg to catch Goku in the stomach, but before he could follow up on such an attack, Gohan had been there to meet him with an uppercut to the chin, freeing the alien boy from the monster's clutches.

"Haah… haah… thank you, Goku…" Gohan wheezed out, coughing. "I know we haven't formally met, but I've heard a lot about you."

"Spare me the details," Goku carelessly replied, regressing back to his trained persona within a heartbeat. "What I want to know is who this monster is."

"If you must know…" the winged beast replied, licking his lips. "My name is Tambourine. I'm the last sight you will ever feast your eyes upon."

Goku couldn't help but confidently smirk. "Is that right?" He took a fighting stance. "Just from watching you fight for those few seconds, I know you like to rely on aerial attacks. I'm confident I can beat you."

Tambourine sneered at the boy menacingly before he heard another set of footsteps rushing toward their current room. He hissed in frustration. 'Reinforcements…? That can't be good. I'll have to hold off on killing any of them for now, although the boy could be a problem given how much he's talked himself up. The old man is no problem to escape from…. aaahhhhh…' he grinned horribly. 'That's it.'

"Then let's go, boy!" Racing toward Goku at full speed, the demon cackled with glee. Just as Goku was about to defend himself, however, Tambourine feinted and sent Gohan smashing through the wall with a roundhouse kick.

Just as Goku was about to turn, however, Tambourine had been prepared. Staring into the boy's soul ghoulishly, he roared with demonic glee. "You're mine!" he hissed, swiping at the boy's eyes with his taloned claw. Goku immediately roared with pain, clutching feebly at his eyes in an attempt to see again, but Tambourine was nothing if not a beautiful aim.

"How sad. And here you were, confident in your ability to beat me," Tambourine purred. "However, we'll have to fight at a later time. King Piccolo is waiting on a very special delivery." With that, he blasted a hole straight through the ceiling and gathered his stolen items before speeding off as fast as possible.

* * *

><p>"G-Goku!"<p>

He didn't know how long it'd been. All he could make out was perpetual darkness. However, in any situation, he could recognize Ambrose's voice.

"Are you all right?"

He immediately tensed. He knew that was Master Roshi. 'Ambrose had better have a good reason for letting him near me… please, don't tell me we were captured…'

Seeing as how he had little to no alternative, Goku saw it fit to answer with the truth. "N-No… I can't see a damn thing… it's all because of that monster, Tambourine. He said he was working for some guy named Piccolo, and then he took my sight away before running off like a damn coward!"

"Did… you say Piccolo?" Roshi's elderly voice croaked out.

It was a moment before Ambrose too joined in. "We're all going to fucking die, aren't we?"

* * *

><p><em>And there we go, ladies and gents! The Tournament Saga of <em>Red Son_ has finally come to a close, and what a whirlwind of a finale it was! _

_I'd like to take a moment and address what I can here, because I genuinely wrote everything following the first Candle Village scene in one day(with consultation from Supersaiyaninfinitygohan here and there), and I'm even a little emotionally tired out from all the happenings. So let's begin._

_Making the Goku vs. Krillin fight as short as I did was _not _out of laziness, as I'm sure you could tell by the later developments of this chapter. I simply didn't deem it fitting to have Goku drag out two fights in one chapter, and I think it's clear that Krillin won the mental war with Goku today, whether he wants to acknowledge it or not. The fact that he still holds such an influence on Goku is certain to have a lasting impact on the timeline to come, especially considering that their stories are obviously destined to intertwine once again sooner rather than later.  
><em>

_Now, moving away from the emotional side of things for a second, let's talk about how strong Goku is. I'm almost positive many of you are ready to throw down with me over the fact that Goku essentially tanked almost everything Tien could throw at him, which I guess I can understand overall. However, I attest this to the fact that Goku's accolades here just simply stack up compared to his canon self. He had a superior trainer in Mercenary Tao, he had already trained prior with Master Roshi… I don't know, I think the level of power I've put him on is very realistic. He's certainly not going to be stomping his way through the competition any longer with Piccolo around, though, that's for sure. One thing I hate about these "different Goku" fics, as I've mentioned so many times over, is that he's both physically and mentally stronger with no consequence whatsoever. While I've demonstrated his mental faults to an extent, I concede that I've made Goku very strong—stronger than I want him to be. However, you all will see that it works out very well in the chapters to come. I can promise you that, considering that Chapters 10-12 are already in the editing process as we speak._

_And finally, we have Kara. Without being biased toward my OC, I really have to admit that I love writing her. Like I said, she was an idea only birthed originally to add more impact to the initial Candle Village raid, but as I wrote said scene I just kept thinking and thinking before I eventually came to the conclusion that it'd be a shame to kill her off. By the way, if you hate her right now for killing her grandfather and essentially associating herself with his biggest enemy(and her own father's murderer), you should. Kara is a character that I, personally, love to hate. It's different for me, seeing as how I'm the author, but I hope that you at least feel _something _toward the character. I really enjoy writing her and her interactions with others, and I think she'll add herself wonderfully into the band of characters I've created. _**Speaking of OCs, I've created a poll on my profile page so you can vote for your two favorite OCs. Feel free to tell me who you like so I can get your feedback!**

_As always, readers, thanks for reading and showing your love for this story. I really do appreciate it! The next update should come on this story's two year anniversary on January 25th, 2016(but I really only consider it one considering that I only restarted work on it in 2015)._

**-Vintage Taylor: ****I feel so bad but I barely noticed this has been updated several times since I last reviewed it. It's pretty amazing seeing your improvement through it all, and I could really tell you enjoyed yourself with this chapter. That's what makes your writing so damn great. I friggin LOVED the Jackie Chun vs Tien fight ! In the anime, the WMAT of DB were always my favorite episodes - and you've captured the essence of it perfectly! I'm going to be writing a tournament myself, but I know it won't be as good as what you can do. Yesss for recent updates and please keep them coming!**

I see I set the bar pretty high with the Roshi vs. Tien fight. Now I'm just hoping that the final two fights of the tournament didn't completely blow in comparison xD

**-ShadowLDrago: So Goku's gonna need to beat Krillin, then Tien, good luck, he may be more vicious than in canon, but Tien is just as dangerous. Also, King Furry's getting involved and the military is actually useful. That's, actually a first. Well done.**

It's very well hidden, but if you look carefully throughout _Dragon Ball Z_(or just on the wiki), King Furry's military is known as the King's Guard. I felt including them in this story built more toward the global presence I want the story to have, as well as giving the RRA a direct foil. It wouldn't be fun to just have the RRA smash everything without a fight, right?

**Maximussj: You have been updating red son quite a lot, have you forgotten of Turbulence? I think it has 6 months since the last chapter, did you drop the story?**

Roughly six months, yeah. I would be hesitant to say that the story is completely dead, as there are still plans for it that I wouldn't mind carrying out, but _Red Son _is the top priority right now. The main reason _Turbulence _has seen a decrease in production rate is because I realized that I made many critical mistakes with the story that, honestly, hindered the Namekian story that I wanted to tell. I took a bit too much advice from other authors and didn't trust my gut instinct, which kind of left the story falling flat on its face on one side of the story. I did, however, greatly enjoy the Earth side of things, and I would be lying if I said I hadn't tried to think of ways to revitalize the entire story as a whole. It just isn't the story that I want to tell right now though. Even the mistakes I feel I've made with RS' early chapters can be fixed because the main issue was just pushing through writer's block. This story, however, would take more time to get back into, and I'd rather stick with this project because I know it's going to go far.

**-Full Power:**** Goku scares me. He is now Tao. Toku. Taoku. Yeah Taoku, I like that. As for the war scene...yes. It felt like the intro to The Force Awakens, that's all I'll say for now. **

I definitely wanted to include subtle hints of Tao's behavior into Goku during this tournament. I hope that was also prevalent during this chapter. But don't worry, Goku's character development is not done quite yet. If it was, we wouldn't have much of a story left, would we?


	10. Chapter 10: Enter the Demon

**War Saga - Part 1: Enter the Demon**

"We're all going to fucking die, aren't we?" Ambrose asked gravely.

If nothing else, that certainly sparked Goku's attention. "W-What?!" A bead of sweat ran down his face. "How could you not trust me to take him down? I'm the strongest in the world, and I just proved it!"

Roshi bristled at the arrogance that his former student exuded, but still cleared his throat to get both of their attention. "You may have proven yourself the strongest in the world, Goku," he began, satiating the boy's ego, "but King Piccolo's power is _out _of this world. No mortal has ever been able to match his power."

Goku grunted, raising a fist. "Then I'm going to be the first," he adamantly declared. "Once I get my eyesight back from that dirty trick, that demon won't know what hit him."

"No, Goku!" Ambrose suddenly roared, turning and gripping the child by the throat. He immediately dragged him over and pinned him against the wall, leaving Goku to sputter and cough in his choke hold. "You listen to me, and you listen to me right now: if you rush him dead-on, you _will _lose! This fucker is absolutely one-hundred percent out of your league!"

"Then…" Goku coughed as Ambrose released him, "why shouldn't I get it over with and die anyway? If I'm not going to be able to help the army conquer the world, what purpose do I have to live for?"

That comment didn't go unnoticed by Master Roshi, who immediately honed in on Goku's slip-up. "The army? You mean… you've been part of…"

"The Red Ribbon Army, yes," Ambrose finished with a scowl on his face, watching as the Turtle Hermit recoiled with horror. "But let's get something straight. We're not after you right now, as much as I'd like to tear into your face and kill you myself for fucking with Goku's head as much as you did. Our priority right now is not getting mauled by this supernatural monster." He turned his head to Goku. "Come on, squirt, we're leaving. We have to make it back to the tower if we're going to get any plan in place." He hoisted the boy over his shoulder without warning - knowing he wouldn't be able to guide himself out - and promptly walked out of the room, leaving a dazed Roshi alone with his thoughts.

"So… I trained an accomplice of the Red Ribbon army…" the elderly warrior murmured to himself, walking toward the exit himself. He knew he had to relay the dire news to everyone else before Piccolo had a chance to carry out his grand ambition. "...And he's now the second strongest warrior on this entire planet behind Piccolo, the demon king.

"Things just keep getting better…"

* * *

><p>The battle had long since been over. Bodies were scattered all over the landmark known as Candle Village-both Red Ribbon and King's Guard alike. Anton noticed with a confident grin that many more King's Guard soldiers had kicked the bucket as opposed to his own men.<p>

But even that mattered little. The task was complete.

"I take it that we're wrapped up here," he confidently remarked. "Unless I'm forgetting any of the commander's orders, all we had to do was yank their oil supply, right?"

"The added carnage was a bonus," came one soldier's retort with a merciless grin. "But yeah, we're done here. Let's head back."

"Not without us!"

Everyone, including Anton, turned their heads to see Dolph, Locke, and a girl Anton would deem far from unattractive walking toward them from a higher hill. As they came closer, Anton could clearly see that Locke and the girl seemed to be aiding Dolph along, the latter's face flushed full with pain. Just what had gone on?

Eager to find out an answer, the leader of this entire operation folded his arms and shook his head. "Well, well, well… Anton, Dolph, care to explain why you ran off in the heat of battle? Better yet, why the hell is this girl with you?"

"Sergeant Anton, the both of us ran off in pursuit of Commander Enier. The old fool had tried fleeing once he realized he stood no chance, so Dolph and I took preemptive measures to ensure he didn't escape."

Anton had to admit he was more than a little impressed. "Good eyes. But that doesn't explain the girl," he added, motioning over to her. "What's she got to do with all this?"

"My name is Kara," the blonde girl cut in. "And you should be thanking me. Without me, your boys wouldn't be alive right now."

Seeing his soldiers recoil in surprise at the audacity of the blonde, Anton scowled. He knew he had to reassert his authority immediately. "I owe nothing to a worthless piece of trash like you, girl!"

She raised her free arm that wasn't being used to support Dolph, placing it on her hip. "What would you say if I told you that I killed Enier, then?"

Anton's eyes bugged out. "There's no way… a mere woman killed one of the finest soldiers the King's Guard ever knew... " Immediately, he regained his spark, glaring at both Anton and Dolph. "Men, is this true?"

"S-Sergeant…" Dolph rasped out, but immediately, he felt the heat of either of his two accomplices' stares on him. He swallowed the pain and grunted. "Yes, it's true. Kara did kill him."

"We were struggling with taking the old man down-he was very crafty. Didn't exactly fight fair, either," Locke remarked, looking over toward Dolph. "His old age seemed to matter very little-he had stamina in spades. But, thankfully, this girl came along and shot him dead."

"Really? Now that's something…" Anton half-smirked. "But all that shows me is that you idiots were useless when it came to taking down an old man! You both don't deserve the ranking that comes with the Red Ribbon Army! Men, go ahead and wipe all three of these fuckers off the face of this Earth!"

Many rifles were aimed in that very moment, leaving the triptych to shiver in fear. Anton noted all they had between them was two pistols, and it was hardly as if they could drop Dolph in time to arm them. They were finished.

"Don't!"

Everyone immediately turned around to see a young Kass, trembling with both anxiety and trepidation. "We've lost so many already… why should we kill two more of our own when there's not even a battle going on?!"

He fell over, lifeless, a minute later.

Anton lowered his pistol in disgust. "How this brat lived throughout this entire mission, I'll never understand."

Nobody batted an eye at Kass' untimely death. To protest killing in itself was practically asking for an early visit to the next world. They all kept their eyes locked on Dolph, Kara, and Locke, waiting for their sergeant's orders. As Anton realized this, he waved them off. "Don't even bother. They're already in enough hot water with Commander Red. Let him decide on how to handle this."

Everyone lowered their rifles in unison and went to begin excited chatter amongst themselves; however, not a single soul saw Dolph lower his blonde-haired head down toward Kara's ear and whisper, with a smirk…

"Told you that poor idiot would take the bait."

* * *

><p>Crane Master Shen was not a very happy man right now as he watched his prized student straggle around and take an impromptu seat against the wall, panting for air. "It wasn't supposed to be like this, Tien. You did exactly all that I asked you to and eliminated the filthy Turtle school from the tournament-and even the old Turtle Master himself. And yet this nobody comes along and hands you defeat!" he seethed. "What's more, he knows our trademark move in the Dodon Ray!"<p>

"I-I know…" Tien heaved, groaning in pain as he mustered up enough strength to push his head off the wall and crack his neck. "With Roshi, I knew I could beat him if I just kept chipping away at him. But with this kid… I don't think I could've ever beaten him at the strength level I'm at now."

"Tien, you did the best you could…" Chiaotzu tried to offer the triclops. "It's not that you're weak; it's that your opponent was just that much stronger!"

"He knows that, Chiaotzu!" Shen snarled, causing the imp to flinch in fear. He pounded his fist into his hand. "I just wish I knew more about the boy! I must find out how he harnessed such power… aside from one legendary being, it's the greatest I've ever seen!"

"Speaking of _him, _Shen, I think I have something you may want to know about."

All three of the Crane School collectively turned their heads as Master Roshi approached them with a grim expression. While Chiaotzu and Tien greeted him with nothing short of an inquisitive stare, Shen managed to be even less cordial. "What're you saying, old man? Spit it out, or I'll have Tien here finish what he started!"

"You're not in a position to have him do that right now, Shen," Roshi calmly responded, ignoring his rival's furious expression. "Besides, we need all the numbers we can get right now to face him."

Upon seeing how unbelievably stoic the normally jovial and goofy master was, Shen decided to quell his anger long enough to figure out what was going on. "There's no way... you can't be serious right now, Roshi…"

"If you want to hear the full story, follow me. I have to tell the others, and I'd rather not waste time telling the story twice," Roshi sternly said. With that, he turned his back to the trio and began a swift walk away.

"M-Master, how dare you let him disrespect you like that!" Tien hissed as he nursed his shoulder. "He has no right to get away with blatantly leaving you out of the loop! Besides, did you forget how much you hate his guts?!"

"Tien Shinhan, there will be none of that!" Shen snapped, raising his leg and deftly kicking him right on the spine, eliciting a scream of pain out of the triclops as he feebly fell to the ground again. "You have no idea who this monster I'm referring to is, do you? In the face of such a huge threat like this, I have no choice but to follow that old fool!"

"M-Master… who is this threat…?" Chiaotzu whimpered as Shen turned to him, his face still colored red with nervous adrenaline. "And why haven't you told us about him before?"

"I'll explain as we walk," Shen responded, annoyed with the constant badgering. "Now get up, Tien; we have no time to waste…"

* * *

><p>Goku had felt like he'd been pulled for hours and hours on end now. All he could hear was the bustling noise of the city's environment around him. The smoke in the air was palpable to him, filling his lungs every now and again and causing him to cough.<p>

Yet Ambrose was insistent on carrying the boy through it all. Whenever Goku had protested and promised the auburn-haired soldier he'd be able to walk on his own, the executioner barked back at him with a firm protectiveness that seemed rare of him. It was remarkable, really. Even in his most sincere moments, Ambrose had never come off so concerned about his well-being.

He was brought out of his musings when he suddenly, involuntarily, slid off Ambrose's back, grunting in mild discomfort. Before he had the opportunity to ask what had happened, however, he heard a chorus of rumblings before a wild shriek rang through his ears. Ambrose's maniacal laughter followed.

Being scooped up once again by his former caretaker, Goku growled at him. "What gives, Ambrose?! What was that for?!"

"Was doing what I do best." Even though he couldn't see him, Goku had a feeling Ambrose was wearing a devious grin. "Now, Goku, you ready for your first ever helicopter ride?"

* * *

><p>A collective chill of fear tingled through the Earth's heroes, the reality of the situation gripping them harshly by the throat and paralyzing them beyond words. Just judging from the fear and trepidation laced within Master Roshi's voice as he recounted the stories of death and destruction that Piccolo was single-handedly responsible for, this was destined to be their greatest battle yet.<p>

"So what are we supposed to do in the face of such a demon?" Yamcha asked, balancing himself on his crutches. "I wish I could help, but I'm useless with this dead leg…"

"Don't feel bad, Yamcha. As much as I hate to admit it, we're all useless against this monster's almighty power," Master Roshi grimly admitted. "The only thing I believe we can really do is try and foil whatever plans he may have."

"Do you have any leads on what he might do, Master Roshi?" Bulma asked, now holding the unconscious Krillin in her arms. "After all, you're the only one here who has firsthand experience fighting him."

"Make that two."

Everyone craned their heads to see as Shen led his students to join the pack, the normally boastful master wearing nothing short of a stoic stare. "I too have seen King Piccolo battle, and I'm willing to bet that I can put the pieces together on his grand plan."

"Shen, I told you I wasn't going to repeat myself," Roshi firmly cut in. "Why can't you swallow your pride for once and realize that there's more to worry about than yourself?"

Shen folded his arms. "Fool. Have you really lost your eyesight? We were listening from afar. I refuse to get any closer to you than I have to, especially after you tried to corrupt my top student once you realized you were destined to lose to him."

Roshi did nothing more than grunt. "That's neither here nor there… right now I could care less how any of you feel towards me. What I care about is getting as many people as we can to try and work together against King Piccolo. Are you in?"

"Yes," Tien swiftly cut in, answering for his master. Upon hearing the triclops' voice, Shen growled in annoyance but ultimately remained quiet. "The Turtle and the Crane can put their rivalry aside for this one battle. But be warned, Roshi… we're going to finish our fight afterward, and when we do, I won't let you just forfeit." Tien balled his fist.

Despite the threat, Roshi nodded. "I understand, Tien. We will fight again if that's what you so wish, but first we have to make sure we survive this monster's rampage before we can worry about a rematch."

"I do agree with that," Shen reluctantly remarked, "but that doesn't mean I like it any less."

"Guys!" Bulma suddenly shouted, causing everyone sans the Crane triptych to jump. Rebalancing Krillin in her arms, she scowled. "The fate of the Earth is at stake and you have to worry about your stupid macho pride right now?"

"She's right. We need to focus," Roshi directed, taking off his shades. "I immediately noticed that when that monster managed to escape, he snatched both the Dragon Ball and the list of tournament entrants. I'm sure that Piccolo's plot has to do with eliminating them for some reason."

"He's learned from last time, old man," Shen degradingly remarked. "I've already figured it out. I don't know what these Dragon Balls are, but I do know that the reason he had his minion steal the list of competitors was so he could eliminate them all preemptively before they could learn _that _technique."

"W-What technique are you referring to, Master?" Tien inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Is it one any of us know?"

"No," Shen answered, looking down for the briefest of moments, "and I doubt it will ever be performed again. The Evil Containment Wave is a move that died with our master, Mutaito. To be fair, we never thought we'd need it again after he went ahead and sealed the demon king up. But it's smart nonetheless to try and take us all out right now, as he's certainly not going to underestimate us humans again."

"He's probably going to go ahead and take everyone out one by one, then," Bulma concluded. "Which means any address that's put down there isn't safe to go to. Worst comes to worst, I can house you guys at Capsule Corporation while we think something up."

"There's no time to hide out, as much as I wish we had it," Roshi bluntly stated. "The best thing we can do is try and collect at least one Dragon Ball. If we can manage that, then Piccolo can't get whatever wish he's going to try for."

"Wish?" Shen raised an eyebrow, immediately intrigued. "These Dragon Balls grant wishes?"

"I'll fill you in on it later, Shen, but what you need to know right now is that him getting them spells doom for us," Roshi hastily spoke, nodding toward Bulma. "We're going to need the Dragon Radar, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Bulma answered. "I'm gonna need a solid day to get it together, but I can do it." Upon seeing Roshi's grimace at her response, she grew nervous. The sight almost made her drop Krillin right at her feet. "Don't tell me you need it sooner…?"

"The sooner, the better, honestly," Roshi remarked. "But now that I'm thinking about it, a day to rest and recover might be exactly what we all need."

"Fine," Shen cut in, turning to his two students. "You heard the old fart. We are to live with them for the next day. I don't like it, but we'll have to if we want to take down Piccolo."

Tien, despite his weakened form, nodded. "Understood, master." However, his mind was on something greater. 'Goku… I know that you'll turn up again. If not against Piccolo, we will meet again... and when we do, I promise that I will have no reservations about killing you and your crazy little friend!'

* * *

><p>In the skies above, while the Earth's heroes made their way to Capsule Corp., an aircraft remained stationary in the clouds as it waited idly for its master's next command. It remained just above the troposphere to ensure that there would be no collisions with fellow airplanes; the pilot wouldn't want to risk their precious materials being destroyed in the turbulent winds.<p>

Inside this aircraft, an aged figure reclined back in his gargantuan throne, a smirk spreading his wrinkled mien as he viewed the shimmering sphere in his minion's outstretched hand. In addition to his son's success in obtaining the golden orb, it appeared as if the trio of sniveling cowards he'd spared previously would serve him quite well if they kept up their loyalty. Things were going quite swimmingly for him at the moment; he held all the tools he needed to achieve his ultimate goal. All that was needed was to collect the remaining six spheres before his goal would become reality…

"So…" the elderly figure began with his baritone voice, the low growls of his voice reverberating around the aircraft he was currently on. " that's the Dragon Ball…"

As his master marveled the sphere in his possession, the subordinate gestured over to the gang next to beside him. "It was located where they said it'd be—that old man they claimed to encounter in the past was looking for it after the tournament ended, so I pushed him aside and gathered the items you requested, master." He was careful to omit the fact that he'd nearly been dispatched of by one of the tournament competitors, knowing it wouldn't go over well with his father.

"You see?! You see?! I _knew _it'd be there!" Pilaf cried out eagerly, hoping to show his new master he was reliable. Though he knew freeing his new overlord had been a risky endeavor, he seemed to be quite complacent with the current situation. If things kept up, the emperor knew he could accomplish his _true _goal of world domination.

Ignoring the imp's boasting, the head honcho of the pack focused his gaze solely on the Dragon Ball, grinning with sadistic glee as he recognized the power he was wielding. "When we collect all seven of them… I shall live for all eternity! Nobody will stop Piccolo's wrath!"

Pilaf and his two followers – a young dog by the name of Shu and a beautiful woman named Mai – nodded enthusiastically before speaking in unison. "Yes, master!"

"Also," interrupted the demon, annoyed with his fellow accomplices' incessant attempts to be in his master's favor. "I have here with me the list of finalists from the previous tournaments like you asked for."

"Excellent," Piccolo responded with a devious grin. "Put up the list. There is little time to be wasted before my plans come to fruition."

"Of course, my master," replied the demon, his devilish smirk remaining plastered across his face as he posted the fighters' pictures on the walls of the airship.

The demon glanced at the solid wall of the airship, his fists subconsciously clenching. "No fighter shall remain alive… not when the possibility exists of them knowing the Evil Containment Wave. If even the weakest man can learn to execute the technique, it's a ticket straight to that horrid prison once more." The memories of his soul being trapped in that rice cooker horrified him to no end, the ultimate hell for a demon such as himself. Any measures would suffice if it meant being free from that atrocious confinement, any method at all— even if it meant eliminating his opposition as quickly as possible.

"It'll be a shame not to personally inflict my wrath upon them for the time being… but it cannot be helped. Kill _all_ of the remaining experts, Tambourine… and any other mortal that dares to stand in your way!"

"By your command!" Tambourine grinned, licking his lips lustfully as he savored the thought of killing once more. Then, just as quickly, another thought occurred to him. "But… wait. Who will guard the Dragon Balls in my absence?"

"I suppose I can't entirely rely on you to handle all the dirty work," mused Piccolo to himself, his aged brow lifting ever slightly. "Very well, then. I shall create another demon."

"M-Make another demon?" Shu asked, his eyes uncomfortably shifting over to the blue imp beside him. "W-What does he even… mean by that?"

"I don't know, Shu…" Pilaf murmured back, equally as confused as his anthropomorphic companion. "...but I think I just lost my appetite."

"M-Master!" came the cry of Piano, the first of the demon king's children. His pterodactyl-like figure nearly began to tremble at his master's claim, seemingly in fear. "Master, no… don't inflict such a pain upon yourself. If you lay another egg, you will get older and die before you even have a chance to take over the world!"

In response, Piccolo turned his cranium toward his child and gave him a reassuring grin. "Don't concern yourself with my health. I'll live… despite my containment in that wretched rice cooker, I'll be damned if I've lost _that_ much of my power."

"I… I truly hope so, Master…" came the swift reply of Piano. 'There isn't _any _power that can rival the likes of Master Piccolo… but if he manages to kill himself with the spawning of this new demon, we're doomed!'

Piccolo tightened his grip on his massive throne, narrowing his eyes as he immersed himself in his subconscious. "Pokopen… pokopen… pokopen…" His jaw slackened from the strain, his insides feeling as if they'd been lit with the embers of a thousand suns. Just as quickly, his stomach constricted, and he felt a surge of pain ring through his intestine.

'Curse my damn age...' the demon king thought to himself with a scowl as he experienced the painful sensation of the egg traveling up his throat, temporarily cutting off his air supply. 'Had I been youthful, this would've been far, far easier… but all that time in that damn container has locked away my dormant strength in my earlier years. That won't be a problem any longer… not when I become this mudball's eternal ruler!'

"HYAKK!" Piccolo snarled, spitting out the egg in a coat of saliva and phlegm. It landed just abreast his throne, cracks already beginning to form and spread across the oval-shaped substance.

As the egg hatched, giving birth to a dinosaur-resembling monster, Piccolo wiped the excess spittle off his lips with his forefinger, panting heavily as he did so. "Awaken, young demon! Your name shall be… Cymbal!"

With his master's command, the newly-birthed demon looked upwards, grinning sadistically. His wings flapped twice in an attempt to flex its new muscles, which he found worked quite well.

"Are you a fighter?" Piccolo asked simply, waiting expectantly on his child's answer. It mattered not if he wasn't; the demon king knew it wouldn't take _too _much out of him to produce another… however, it was a process his body would require time to heal from. Even now, his internal organs felt as if they'd been crushed, an obvious sign that he was aging faster than he'd liked. 'Eternal youth… it _must _be mine soon if the plan is to succeed...'

"Yes, my master," Cymbal replied, rotating his arms and testing out a fraction of his power. "I know what is asked of me—I have more than enough power to deal with any fools who get in my way."

"Good, it appears you do know your role, then." Piccolo then bent forward, his obsidian pools of hatred glaring into his newborn's eyes. "Find the six Dragon Balls and bring them back to me immediately."

His head then whipped around at nigh-detectable speeds, a scowl playing upon his lips as he pointed towards his non-demon subordinates. "Find me the location of the next Dragon Ball!"

"Y-Yes, Master Piccolo!" Pilaf promptly replied, turning toward the large globe in the airship and quickly searching for the next sphere. It took him no more than five seconds to spot one, pointing toward its signal and immediately grabbing the attention of all on board. "Yes… this one appears to be the closest… yes, this is the best one!"

Cymbal nodded in response, identifying his target with the sinister grin of his father. "That'll be one of the six I have to collect… that's simple enough."

"You likely won't run into many fighters at all, Cymbal," noted Tambourine as he looked toward the list of fighters, "I'll be handling the majority of them. Now, there are so many choices… who to start with…?"

His gaze eventually settled on a young man wearing a turban and a rather traditional outfit. "Yes… he'll be just fine to kick things off with…" Tambourine grinned maliciously. "Now… his address is… perfect…"

"Tambourine. Cymbal."

Both demons immediately whirled to face their master, arms at their side as if they were being trained under the most strenuous and strictest of regimes.

"You'd best not disappoint me," warned Piccolo as he reclined back in his throne. "The second coming of the Demon King Piccolo is at hand, and I won't tolerate _any _sort of failure on my end."

* * *

><p><em>A shorter chapter than I would've liked, but one that seems to flow rather smoothly while highlighting everyone's preparations for the battle ahead(as well as some denouement for Candle Village). Furthermore, I would like to extend my thoughts and prayers for anyone hit hard by the first snowstorm of 2016.<br>_

_ Originally, plans called for this chapter to go a little longer, but I ultimately decided to take this portion of the story just a little bit slower. This chapter would've felt too much like a whirlwind of events if I had kept it at its original length, so some of its content has been rescheduled into the next chapter. However, I wouldn't fret about it, as I'm still planning on uploading Chapter 11 on this story's two year anniversary. Consider this an early present from me.  
><em>

_Speaking of rescheduling, Kass was actually meant to live a little longer. However, I realized that there was a pristine opportunity to highlight the type of soldier that survives in this army in that very scene. Those who resist the machine just get sniped off, while those that know how to play the game thrive. Kass' innocence and purity, in this instance, got him killed, while Dolph's clever manipulation(which will be explored a little more next chapter) saved his skin._

_And on that same topic of purity, we have Tien. It's very clear that, unlike canon Tien, RS Tien doesn't exactly seem that much more noble. Goku's battle with Tien and the psychology behind it(both on and off the field) has, for the moment, delayed his character evolution. I want to take Tien down a different path in canon, one where his character is going to be more than badass one-liners and general stoicism. I felt there was more potential in this antagonistic Tien we saw in Dragon Ball than there was in his DBZ incarnation, and so I wrote this series of events to keep him as such. Perhaps he may or may not end up a good guy still, but don't just assume that I'm going to randomly turn him because canon called for it. Part of the reason I love having just one storyline with Red Son is it means that I can focus more intricately on the characters that matter, and trust me when I say I'm going to fully capitalize on that._

_As always, I hope you enjoyed and will be back to read how Piccolo's plot intensifies in three days!_

**-Guest: I realay hate the Goku you've made here. Unless he sees the horrors the Red Ribbon Army, I can't ever see him being rehabilitated from this.**

I'm incredibly thrilled to hear that, actually. The thing about _Red Son_'s Goku, in my mind, is that you are entirely welcome to either love him or hate him. I sometimes switch how I feel about him while writing him, actually. You can admire him for still caring about Krillin, but you can also hate that he's been so brainwashed by the Red Ribbon's agenda that, despite being the strongest mortal on Earth(King Piccolo not included), he can't stand up for his own beliefs. You can both marvel at his childlike desire to make Commander Red happy and also hate it because his natural personality has been buried away deep within him. I don't want to pat myself on the back for making Goku this way, but it's honestly what I wanted to achieve in _Turbulence _in a way and so I'm glad I was able to accomplish it in my third attempt at a "changed Goku" story.

** Mohammad Alzo: I am hoping that Goku will stay stronger in canon overall... I think he's perfect as is, He is Very realistically strong.. I hope you don't nerf him for the sake of the plot...**

**I mean, the story will be amazing with Goku's new attitude... I mean imagine him vs Vegeta as equal in Power level and skill If not better... Imagine him earning Raditz's respect... Or making Frieza of all people scared with his ruthlessness and calm exterior...**

**I think the story would actually be WORSE If Goku was any weaker.**

**Keep it going, and remember; just because some people review complaining about the story being ruined and the main being too strong...**

**Doesn't mean they have any idea what they're talking about.**

I actually think I'm the only one who was concerned with Goku being as powerful as he is, in hindsight. The thing is, though, the only reason Goku is so absurdly ahead of the curve is because of all the additional training he's been through. That almost HAS to come back and bite him eventually. I don't consider this a spoiler because you all pretty much have to know this by now, but Goku won't be curbstomping every single threat in this story. Will he remain a strong presence? Absolutely, he is the main character, after all. But like I said, if you expect Goku to simply dominate the competition in ways that shouldn't be possible(i.e. making Frieza tremble in his first appearance), this definitely isn't the story for you.


	11. Chapter 11: Crafting a Weapon

_Sorry for this being a little late! I had things to do that conflicted with my finishing this chapter. Since I decided to break up Chapter 10 and take this portion of the story just a little bit slower-paced, I had to pretty much write this entire chapter from scratch(which I did in one sitting - if you consider it sloppy, I apologize, but I wouldn't have uploaded if I didn't think it was good). Aside from the beginning of Chapter 12, however, I pretty much have a nice chunk of content pre-written. So there you go; I haven't abandoned this story again, don't worry._

_Onward with the chapter!_

* * *

><p><strong>War Saga - Part 2: Crafting a Weapon<br>**

The chopper's roar made for a very vociferous ride; Goku could hardly hear a single thing. A helicopter ride, he had learned, was not all Ambrose had hyped it up to be—especially considering that the auburn-haired soldier had long since confessed his inexperience with flying one.

However, even as his accomplice continued to whoop and cheer at the extraordinary feeling of being so high up in the air, Goku found himself pondering his current situation once more. His inability to see surely contributed to his being lost in thought a lot more often.

'This just doesn't work. First, there's Piccolo,' the boy thought to himself with a grimace on his face. 'And apparently, I can't beat him no matter what I do. Then I'll have to find and take out Tien for good this time; he's going to be nothing but a thorn in my back if I read him as well as I think I did. And then there's Krillin…' He let out a soft sigh. 'Just what am I going to do with you?'

He let himself lean further back in the reclining seat, feeling a wave of fatigue rush through him. He grimaced as he re-adjusted himself as best he could. 'Darn… I guess I took more damage than I thought at that tournament. But it's not going to be enough to keep me down…'

Hearing the giddy laughter of Ambrose as he continued to fly the helicopter, Goku tightened his fist. Although he couldn't see, he was certain he'd drawn blood. 'I have so many people counting on me to pave the way for the Red Ribbon. I'm the strongest martial artist on Earth. Somehow, someway… I have to defeat Piccolo!

'But I know better,' he internally sighed. 'There's no way I can fight him without being at top condition. The minute we get back to Muscle Tower, I've got to take it easy. If everyone else is going to join the fight, I have to as well. The Red Ribbon name can't afford to be seen as cowardly, and this is our best shot to prove it.' Even still, he felt a nervousness in his gut. '...but I have a bad feeling that there's more to this fight than just Piccolo…'

* * *

><p>As he walked the halls of Capsule Corp., Gohan found himself rather restless. Try as he had to dispel his nerves, his aged stomach had been turning with anxiety over the dangers of the threat ahead. He had heard many a preaching from his master at how maniacal the Demon King Piccolo was, and he'd hoped, even back in his younger years, that he would never have to encounter anything even close to his level of power.<p>

But now, he noted with a grimace, he was about to face the real monster himself. The thought frightened him. Ever since he had begun tutelage under Master Roshi, Gohan had believed himself to be powerful enough to help pass on martial arts to the next generation—which he had attempted to begin with his current student in the former desert bandit, Yamcha.

It was a new feeling, however, to be rendered completely helpless in his friends' adventure. First, if it had not been for the boy named Goku, Gohan was positive he'd have died to Piccolo's minion. But that wasn't all. His fears of Piccolo's absurd strength had been further supplemented when he had heard Tambourine voice his master's name. From there, Gohan had spent the entire ride to Capsule Corp. shivering in fear of the awesome power they were to go up against. He knew, perhaps better than even his master, there was not a chance for victory.

'But that's why we have this plan in place,' he reminded himself as he grew closer to his destination. 'If Bulma's able to get the Dragon Radar fixed up by tomorrow morning, we just might have a shot at preventing Piccolo's wish. Even if we all die afterward, preventing Piccolo from realizing whatever desire he may have will be the biggest victory we can take.'

Gohan could hear the loud noises of Bulma's welding materials working their scientific magic as he made it to the outside of the door. He gripped the handle and walked in, finding Bulma in her welding gear bent over the table. The elderly man cleared his throat and said her name just barely loud enough to get her attention. She whirled around, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow, and looked at him. "Sorry, Gohan, I've been hard at work. There anything you need?"

He waved his hand. "No, no, I'm sorry to intrude," he casually dismissed. "I was just wondering how much progress you've made on the Dragon Radar?"

"Enough that I should have this thing done by tonight. Midnight, tops." Bulma half-smirked at her own scientific intellect. "But that's the least of our problems right now. How is everyone else doing?"

"Everyone's well-rested in the rooms your mother so graciously gave to us," Gohan confirmed, though she looked at him a little more intensely, as if not sated by his answer. Gohan knew why. "And Yamcha's doing fine. He's on painkillers right now, but I promise you he's all right."

"Good," Bulma almost mindlessly replied, turning back to her working table. "I'm glad to hear it. I know Yamcha; he's incredibly tough. To be in so much pain, much less without his legs, must kill him inside." Though he couldn't see her, he knew her eyes had moistened.

Gohan grunted in reply. "I'm sure. He also expressed his regret that he won't be able to fight Piccolo. He's a brave one, that Yamcha. But I honestly think—"

Suddenly, the phone rang, cutting the elderly man off in his speech. He cleared his throat as Bulma apologized, walking over to it and scanning the caller identification.

She gaped.

* * *

><p>'I-Is this actually the King? King Furry?' Bulma thought to herself in shock. It couldn't have been a worse time, considering her project, but she knew that if the monarch himself was calling her, it was a dire situation. She immediately picked up the phone and held it to her ear. "Hello?" A man with a gruff voice asked her for her name. "No, this is his daughter, Bulma Briefs…"<p>

She could faintly hear a cry that sounded "give me the phone immediately!", causing her to cringe. But she had no time to outwardly react as she heard another voice come through the receiver. _"You're Bulma, yes?"_ His voice had a sense of urgency to it.

"And you're… King Furry?" Bulma replied. She could see Gohan's eyebrow lift from afar, but she waved him off for the moment. "I'm sorry to say, sir, but this is a very bad time. I can put you through to my father, if you—"

"_You will do just fine, Bulma. I'm sorry for being curt, but you'll have to put whatever you're doing on hold. I've just recently learned about the greatest threat to our planet making itself known... the Red Ribbon Army has risen again!"_

Bulma swallowed. 'If only he knew…' Clutching the phone tightly, she wrestled with the idea of letting him know about King Piccolo's return as well. However, she had been made painfully aware of general firepower's incapability to affect superhuman levels of power when she'd first encountered Gohan, and it was that flashback that made her decide against it. "That's horrible, King Furry! What do you want us to do?"

"_I will make arrangements for your father to be transported to Chow Castle as soon as I can." She_ could hear him pause for a beat._ "Are you a scientist like he is?"_

"I'm not on his level of expertise yet, but—"

"That's fine! Please accompany him to meet with me. I could use all the intellects I can on my side. I wouldn't dare risk your family's genius being recruited by the Red Ribbon!" King Furry exclaimed. "I have to go now, but I promise we will be in touch. I should have a helicopter sent to Capsule Corporation within twenty-four hours. Goodbye!"

With that, Bulma heard a click followed by a dull tone. Her heart began to beat at a wild rate unlike any she'd ever experienced.

"B-Bulma?" Gohan nervously asked, reaching out an aged hand to her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"N-No… I'm not," Bulma choked out. "Piccolo isn't the only threat to us anymore..."

* * *

><p>It was odd. The last thing he'd remembered was standing across from his former best friend at the World Martial Arts Tournament, and the next thing he knew he had awoken at Capsule Corp. He had faint shards of memories of what had happened since he'd been out, but nothing significant enough to put anything together.<p>

What he knew for certain, however, was that his head certainly stung. Even when he heard a door creak open, he did not flinch from the sudden rush of light that hit his eyes, but from the painful whine said door's opening accompanied. With a hiss, he looked toward his impromptu visitor. He immediately relaxed. "M-Master…?"

"You're probably down on yourself, my boy," Roshi cut him off, walking over to his student's bedside and pulling up a chair. "But I assure you, Krillin, you did very well."

"But Goku knocked me out in one hit!" Krillin complained, still rubbing at his head. "How is that anything to be proud of?"

"Do you remember Tien Shinhan, the one who defeated Yamcha with little effort at all?"

Krillin felt his head hurt even more from his master's confusing question. "Y-Yeah. So?"

"Goku defeated him with even less."

The former monk felt his jaw drop to his bed covers as he quivered in fear. "You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding!" He almost knew it was foolish to ask such a thing; he knew his master, in times when he deemed it necessary, never kept anything from him. So when he shook his head, Krillin wasn't surprised… but still equally as mindblown. "Goku wasn't _that _far ahead of me back when we trained together, was he?"

Roshi let out a sharp exhale. "No, Krillin, he wasn't. But Goku's easy victory over Tien isn't even the worst part. I've found out the boy's true origins… or, at least, where he resides now. He has been working with the Red Ribbon Army ever since he left us."

"You're kidding!" Krillin screeched. Even from the isolated Orin Temple, Krillin knew well of the Red Ribbon Army's legend. "To think that they got their hands on someone like Goku…" he hung his head. "It makes me sick! Doesn't it do the same to you, Master Roshi?"

"I don't know the full story about what happened to Goku," Roshi confessed, causing Krillin to look back up at him. "He could have been kidnapped and brainwashed by them, for all I know. But what I can be sure about is his absurd strength. Quite frankly, he's easily the second strongest being roaming the planet today."

"S-Second?" For a minute, Krillin's eyes glowed with hope. "Y-You're the first, right? Right?!" As he was met with Roshi's defeated gaze, Krillin's heart sank. "Please tell me you're stronger than him, Master?! Please tell me you can make Goku come back!"

"I can't," Roshi bluntly admitted. "The boy has long surpassed me. To make matters worse, the strongest on Earth today is not on our side. It's a monster… a monster by the name of Picc—"

A ragged Bulma, her hair in a mess and her welding outfit dusty, immediately stormed through the door and walked straight up to Master Roshi, Gohan in tow.

"There's more to the story now, Roshi," Bulma tiredly remarked. She panted heavily and put her hands on her knees in fatigue. "I… ran over here to tell you… guys…"

Gohan stepped up to be in line with Bulma, easing her into a chair. "Allow me." He turned back to Krillin and Roshi with a solemn mien. "The Demon King Piccolo is not the only threat to this world. Bulma just got a call from King Furry saying that the Red Ribbon has made an attack on a remote village, easily wiping it out with hardly any resistance." His eyes narrowed. "I've only learned about the history of the Red Ribbon today, but apparently they don't like to make a splash unless they're confident in their abilities. King Furry is worried about them making a move to overtake the Earth."

"Does it ever end!?" Krillin pounded the bed in frustration. "This just isn't fair! Why did Goku have to leave us?! With his help, we could've beaten the Red Ribbon and Piccolo together!" He felt his eyes beginning to glisten with unreleased tears once more, the subject of Goku far more than just a sore subject to him. "Just… why…?"

None of the adults in the room had a proper answer for him. All they could do was ask the very same question to themselves, fearing the challenge ahead.

* * *

><p>"Bullshit! Fucking bullshit!"<p>

Goku and Ambrose stood firm in their claim, not backing down even as Red cleared everything off his desk in blind rage. His accessories could be replaced later; his life could not. Ambrose cleared his throat and attempted to revive Red's attention. "I'm sorry, boss man, but it's true. One of Piccolo's hellspawns even attacked Goku here and rendered him blind."

"I refuse to believe it!" Red hyperventilated. He clutched at his head and leaned back in his chair. "Why is it that when we make two huge leaps, we get an even bigger problem in our hands?! There's no fucking way even Goku could take Piccolo down!"

"Sir, I feel the need to disagree," said Staff Officer Black, who had remained silent throughout Ambrose's entire story. He kept his emotions well hidden in a contrast to Commander Red. "From what we've heard, it took Piccolo's offspring a claw to the eyes to defeat Goku. That speaks to him feeling threatened by Goku's power. We can and should press the advantage while we have the opportunity."

Goku, though he remained blinded, stepped forward. "I promise you, Commander, I will not let you down. Goku has not failed you yet," he remained specific, careful to avoid his caretaker's rage at his original failure to eliminate the Turtle, "and I swear, even if it costs me my life, I will eliminate Piccolo."

Red turned, his shoulders rising and falling as he continued to try and reign in his temper. "Are you fucking incompetent, Black?!" he violently yelled. "And you, Goku… you've got a damn good attitude, but you're in over your head this time! In case Ambrose didn't beat it into your head yet, Piccolo is the definition of might! He is unbeatable!"

"Our army has made strides in its own right, Commander Red," Black tried to offer, a bit of frustration seeping through his voice. "And he wouldn't be expecting a direct assault. We must attack while he's not expecting it if we want to continue to survive."

"Who's the commander here?!" Red snarled. "Because last I checked, your name is _Staff Officer _Black, not _Commander _Black?! You do not live and breathe this army; I do! So shut your mouth and get it through your thick skull that we are _not _attacking him first!"

"Perhaps not under your command," Black ominously remarked. Then, suddenly, he lifted his arm and backhanded Red across the side of his face, sending his chair rolling and crashing into the wall.

"B-Boss man!" Ambrose gasped, half tempted to go to his side. Instead, he held firm, growling as his more violent side bubbled to the surface. He swung his fists in the air for a brief moment in preparation for the fight again. "I dunno what's gotten into you, shithead, but laying a hand on the boss man is out of the damn question!"

"He is incompetent. For so long I wanted to believe that he wasn't, but he's just proven it," Black stoically remarked, turning to face Ambrose fully. "I've tried to justify myself in my current position for years on end, yet I never truly could. Only now am I recognized for my actions in this army, and even then I'm not treated with the respect I deserve. So now, if I won't gain that respect under Commander Red, I'll have to earn it myself." He pulled up his sleeves. "And little Goku over here isn't going to stop the Red Ribbon from thriving, will he?" he smirked, pulling out a silver pistol from his back pocket. "So the last pieces of the puzzle that I have to remove are you and Red. And that midget's out as we speak."

"If you think a measly gun is going to take me out, you're sadly mistaken." A glimmer appeared in Ambrose's eye. "But you're welcome to try. I don't recommend it, but you're welcome to try."

Without warning, Black fired the first round of his pistol, though Ambrose had long anticipated it and performed a barrel roll to the side. The bullet sunk into a picture of Red, sending it shattering to the floor.

"A-Ambrose?!" Goku cried out, helpless to do little more than feel out what was going on. This wasn't like any other situation—-he was sure he could feel out his opponent's movements in a fight, but Black wasn't a conventional martial artist. He was helpless to save his best friend. "Ambrose!"

Ambrose remained deathly silent as he remained perched on one knee, staring at Black as he re-aligned his pistol as quickly as possible. "You know, you son of a bitch, I didn't think you actually had the balls to do it. But now that you have… it's the last thing you'll ever do." He immediately dodged two more bullets by tilting his head to either side, smirking at the authority figure's stupor. "I've played with too many weapons to be brought down by one, dude. I know how people aim."

"I see that," Black lauded. "So I'll do it the old fashioned way!" Instead of firing off another shot, Black lunged at Ambrose with the pistol in hand and brought his arm down in an arc. The metallic weapon grew dangerously close to connecting with the side of Ambrose's skull, but the executioner caught the officer's arm and immediately headbutted him in the stomach. Black winced in pain, but used his free hand to stretch out his index finger and aim for Ambrose's eye.

Unfortunately for him, Ambrose fell backward, using his tug on the officer's arm to bring him down as well. Lifting his knees up, Ambrose grinned victoriously as Black's ribcage met with his extended legs, and then using his superior physical strength to his advantage, he tossed the man over his head and into the wall behind him.

Flipping back to his feet with little effort, Ambrose cracked his neck as Black dug his way out of the debris. "Big talk. Weak fighter."

Just as he finished cracking his neck, however, he howled in pain as he felt a bullet slide neatly into his shoulder, piercing his skin and forcing him to his knees. He gripped his shoulder in pain as Black crawled back onto the floor, gasping for air.

"You've grown so confident. Did you actually expect a fair fight?" Black chuckled, even despite the fact that he found it nigh impossible to stand from the pain his body took. "I knew all I had to do was let you hurt me enough to leave yourself open. Your time in the chambers has softened you."

"N-No! Ambrose, don't die on me!" the mercenary could hear Goku cry from afar. "We still have so much more to do!"

"Quiet, brat!" Black barked in his direction. He then refocused on Ambrose with a horrible grin. "As for you… it's like I said before. You were never prepared to truly protect, whether that be yourself or even Goku alike. You're just a mindless killer."

"Ugh…" Ambrose heaved, feeling blood ooze out of his open wound. "F-Fuck… you…"

"You're finished," Black remarked as he dragged himself back to his knees. He aimed straight for Ambrose's skull. "I'll end this now!"

"Like… fucking… hell!" Ambrose roared, standing back up with adrenaline not even he knew he had. With a snarl, he tackled the officer down and began wailing on his skull with a relentless series of lefts and rights, completely ignoring the pain that such an action sent rippling through his left shoulder. He let out a merciless howl as he relished in Black's cries, pummeling him until there was no life left in him any longer. Even then, his fists continued to rain down on Staff Officer Black until he could hear both Goku and Commander Red calling out his name…

...and then, darkness.

* * *

><p>He wanted to visit Ambrose. In fact, his heart <em>ached <em>to visit Ambrose. But Commander Red had ushered him back into his room and practically ordered him to stay there, claiming that Ambrose was going to be all right if he had just shut up for five seconds. Goku knew that meant that his auburn-haired friend was going to make it through this alive.

He just needed to hear it from his own mouth.

However, Goku couldn't deny that heading to sleep felt like a more tantalizing option at the moment. His day had been a long one, what with a seemingly never-ending stream of battles, and the more rational side of his mind coerced him into believing that he could visit Ambrose first thing tomorrow. As such, he started to feel out his bed, awkwardly crawling onto it before shuffling himself around to find the pillows.

"Need help with that?"

That voice sounded… incredibly new to him. It wasn't masculine, that much was for sure; however, Goku knew just as well as the rest of the world that the only female enlisted in the army was Colonel Violet, and this voice was far sweeter-sounding than hers. He still couldn't help but ask. "V-Violet…?"

He felt warm, gentle hands turning his body over and easing him down onto a pillow. "No," the voice replied. "My name is Kara. I'm, uh… kind of new around here."

"W-Why are you here?!" he almost immediately felt the need to defend himself, the need to ensure that he asserted himself above any other soldier. "Even if I can't see, I can help myself just fine! And whoever decided to let a girl like you into this army?!"

He felt his cheek move to the side forcefully, yet felt no pain behind it. "Impressive," the voice remarked. "I guess you really are this army's secret weapon if you felt nothing from that." Her voice grew sterner. "But I don't appreciate you saying I don't deserve to be here because I'm a girl. I'll have you know that Commander Red himself decided to enlist me."

"C-Commander Red?" Goku asked, sinking into the bed. "He's the one who enforced this kind of rule! There's no way he'd let you in!"

"I'm a special case; let's put it that way," Kara nonchalantly responded. She put her hand back on his cheek, stroking it softly. "You seem like one too. You're too cute to really look like a threat, but I guess you are capable of leading this army if Red's let you live here this long."

"Not this time," Goku faintly mumbled. "Not with stupid King Piccolo on the loose…"

He felt her hand stop caressing his cheek, beginning to tremble in place. "You're serious? Piccolo?" Suddenly, her voice regained its soft and gentle tone. "Well, if it means anything, with how highly everyone seems to talk about you and getting to see you for myself, I'd say you're probably on his level."

Goku pouted childishly and folded his arms. "It means nothing if I can't fight him fairly, and since I can't even see him, there's no way I could even beat him. That doesn't even account for the rest of this planet…" he sighed. "I just feel like I'm the only thing holding this army together. Without me, there's no way this army can beat the best martial artists in the world. And that scares me."

"Awww… poor baby," he could hear Kara's voice console him, her warm lips moving to his forehead to kiss him. She patted him on the head. "It doesn't have to be just you, you know. You could train the soldiers—make them stronger than the average man. That'd take at least some of the load off of you to help lead the army, and you could just focus on the big guys you're concerned about."

"Yeah… maybe…" Goku felt his mind beginning to fade. He wrestled with it long enough to spit out two words. "Thanks… Kara…"

* * *

><p>Kara watched with a half-smile as Goku fully entered the world of unconsciousness. She was aware that there was no point in growing attached to anyone in her new environment, sure, but she always had a soft spot for the purely innocent. "Such a sweet boy. So powerful, and yet so simple…"<p>

"I'm aware of your game, bitch. And don't even try it on Goku."

Kara turned around to see a rather attractive auburn-haired soldier, dressed in a black tank top and blue jeans, make his way up to her. Though his shoulder was heavily taped up, he showed no signs of pain as he stared her dead in the eyes. "When Red was getting a doctor to fix me up, I could hear you sweet-talking him and telling him that you killed that shithead named Enier." He spat at the ground. "But that means nothing to me. He wouldn't have accepted you if he wasn't so concerned about the Piccolo ordeal. Right now, he'll take anything he can get."

"And that bothers me why?" she grinned. "I'm alive, I'm part of the world's greatest superpower, and most of all, I've got two guys already at my beck and call because they don't want to have their reputations exposed." Her eyes shone with mischief. "Would you like to be the third?"

"I have better things to worry about than being a pretty girl's lapdog," Ambrose coldly remarked, pushing past her and looking toward Goku's peaceful form. Never taking his eyes off the boy for a second, the soldier remarked, "by the way, don't think I didn't see your cast on your arm. I have no problems with breaking the other one if you tick me off too much."

"I get it, gorgeous, lesson learned," Kara almost sarcastically spat back. "I won't mess with you. You seem to have enough to be worried about with Goku." Her eyes softened as she watched Ambrose tenderly reach out to Goku and readjust him to put him under his blanket. "By the way, he's very stressed. I don't know if he's told you that, but he's doubting himself."

"...I know," Ambrose darkly responded. "I've known ever since I told him how strong Piccolo is. I don't know your background, girl, but I'm willing to bet you know of the demon king."

Kara clicked her teeth. "Yup, I'm afraid I do." She walked up next to Ambrose and stared down at Goku. "But it's weird… I don't think he's as invincible as he was before."

Ambrose turned to her, watching her blue eyes remain firmly locked on the sleeping Goku. "What makes you say that?"

"This kid…. Goku, I mean…" Kara trailed off. She turned to face Ambrose's brown eyes. "He just gives off strength somehow. He looks like a basic kid, but you just get this feeling from him… that you feel safe with him."

Ambrose smiled at her. A real, genuine smile. From the way he did, she doubted anyone other than Goku had seen it in years. "I've always gotten that feeling. Even when he was a sniveling brat, he just has this overwhelming goodness about him that makes you feel safe." Then, he suddenly frowned. "But he's still overcome by emotion at times. It's not healthy for him. It hasn't been a problem up until now, but it's still something that concerns me."

"Maybe it's because he doesn't have an outlet to get rid of all that energy," Kara inquisitively remarked. "He keeps it all bottled up inside so that nobody ever has to see it, but that's eating him apart on the inside."

"...Damn. You a psych major?" Ambrose half-smirked at her. "Either way, you're pretty smart. I guess I can see why you were able to worm your way here. Other than on looks, of course."

Kara would've forced herself to blush at the compliment in any other situation, but she didn't feel the need to with Ambrose. It was… odd. Instead, she just chuckled it off and smiled back at him. "It's just kind of common sense. I had the same problem myself. I hated my grandfather, so I kind of turned to an outlet to get out all my anger toward him."

"Sex?" Ambrose lifted an eyebrow. This time, Kara really did feel her face turn beet red. "I don't blame you. You're very pretty; no guy would probably say no to you."

"It wasn't about that… not at first," Kara remarked. "At first, it was your basic, stupid rebellion thing. But then I realized just how much I could get out of guys that wanted me, and it all just kind of went from there. Over time, the whole mental release thing kind of went away, and it became about making guys into my personal slaves. I could have a guy writing an entire paper for me if I just spent a good ten minutes with him in the bedroom."

"Hmm. Makes sense," Ambrose conceded. "I've just always relied on hitting hard and hitting often. A good friend of mine taught me that." He smirked. "Another one told me that it would be a good idea to come into the Red Ribbon Army. That I wasn't selling out, but buying in." His face turned dark. "Enier killed them both."

"Enier was my grandfather." Kara placed her hand in his. "I'm sorry."

Ambrose didn't make much of the action, but he just ran his free hand through his hair. "You kidding me? I should be thanking you. I honestly forgot to earlier." He smiled. "Now my friends can rest easy in the next life."

"I'm… not sure how you want me to respond to that…" Kara answered genuinely, a touch of laughter seeping through her lips. She almost wanted to slap herself for acting so ladylike, but for some reason she didn't care this time around.

"Don't. Just be happy the fucker's dead." Ambrose took one last look at Goku before forcefully breaking Kara's grip on him. "Anyway…"

"Kara," she finished for him. "It's Kara."

"Kara. I'm going to get to bed. It's been a long-ass day, and I'd rather not miss a minute of shut-eye. We're going into some pretty serious shit tomorrow, and I've got to be prepared. Fun talking to you." With that, he turned around and began walking toward the door.

"Wait," the blonde reached out to him, taking his hand again. He turned toward her again, this time a little more irritably.

"What do you want?" Ambrose asked, clearly desiring to retire to his own chambers. "Like I said, tomorrow's a code red sort of deal. I really don't want to waste time."

"About Goku…" Kara trailed off, immediately knowing she could catch his attention by referencing him. "What if you and I, uh, become his parents?"

Ambrose stared at her in surprise for a solid five seconds. Then he burst into laughter. "Damn, Kara, I figured you had to work fast, but this is a whole new level!"

She felt herself growing flustered. "No, not like that, you idiot!" She almost wanted to smack him. "I meant in the emotional sense. You and I both admitted to each other that we know Goku's emotions aren't helping him if they gnaw away at him. If we can act as something different to him, something more stable and supportive, maybe he won't let himself burn out when it matters."

Ambrose pondered that for a minute. "I don't like the idea of messing with the kid's brain any longer. That Roshi fuckhead tried to corrupt him, and it took us so long to remind him of who he wanted to be. Wouldn't this just cause him more mental trauma?"

"Not if we were smart about it," Kara reasoned. Then her eyes grew serious. "Look, Ambrose, I'm not going to lie: a part of me wants to do this so that I have a value to this fucking place besides potentially dying on the battlefield."

"No shit," Ambrose smirked. "I could tell you weren't a fighter from the minute I saw you."

"But the other part of me actually really likes this kid. Like I said, he's cute." Kara looked back at Goku for a brief moment before turning back to Ambrose. "And you're not like all the other masculine idiots I've had to deal with today. This deal only benefits all three of us."

"And how am I exactly rewarded for this?" Ambrose asked, confused. Then his eyes narrowed. "Do you really think you can bribe me with sex? You just said it, Kara: I'm not like the others."

"You're not unattractive," Kara smiled deviously, causing Ambrose to roll his eyes. But then she regrew her serious expression. "But I can be there for you too, Ambrose. There's more to you… I can see it. I've heard rumors about you all day—how you're this unfeeling, psychotic killer. Maybe I can help you prove them wrong."

"What if I don't want to?" Ambrose flashed her a sinister grin. "Maybe I like who the fuck I am right now. The only two folk I care about in my life are Goku and boss man, and I'm content keeping it that way."

"...You care for your friends. The ones Enier killed." Although Ambrose gave her a burning glare, she offered one right back as she continued. "Listen, I might know of a way to get them back. And I'll tell it to you if you trust me and actually go through with this. I swear to you, Ambrose, if you let me, I will look out for all of us."

Ambrose kept up his fiery gaze, but it slowly relented in favor of a defeated mien. "You win. We'll be Goku's parents." Breaking her hold on his hand, he once again regained his cold demeanor. "But you better _know _for certain how to get my friends back."

A faint chuckle passed Kara's lips. "Don't worry, _sweetie_," the line so innocently rolled off her tongue. "I'll let you know first thing in the morning. We have to go to bed."

Ambrose felt himself angrily scowl. "We? Since when did I let you into my bed?!"

"Since Commander Red told me that he wasn't going to give me a room," Kara pouted. "I'd at least like _some _luxury. Would you really let the mother of your child suffer sleeping on the cold, hard ground?"

"Pushing it," Ambrose responded.

"Got it," Kara sighed. "But seriously, I won't try anything. Can I at least stay in your room?"

"Sure… I guess." Ambrose shrugged nonchalantly as he opened the door to Goku's room. "Just keep quiet. I'd rather not wake the kid up."

As they closed the door behind them, they left Goku sound asleep.

Or so they thought.

* * *

><p>Goku, being incredibly attuned to all his senses, had immediately regained consciousness once he had heard of Ambrose's arrival. Though he kept up his facade of sleeping incredibly well, he listened in on each exchange that Ambrose and Kara had. He did his best not to cringe in horror when he heard the two talking about his emotional weakness—because the truth was, they were right.<p>

He just didn't want to admit it.

'Maybe Kara was right. Maybe this doesn't have to be a one versus all deal…' Goku thought to himself, sitting up in his bed fully. 'Maybe I can't beat Piccolo alone... but with the help of the army, there's nothing we can't do.'

* * *

><p><em>And that's the end, folks! A rather action-free chapter, but certainly not one devoid of conflict and drama. I really wanted to take a moment to emphasis the <em>

_threat of King Piccolo(something which I really enjoyed doing in my other story) as well as the pressure riding on Goku at this very moment. Speaking of, I want to address the ending scene with Goku, Ambrose, and Kara a little more._

_I didn't just cripple the Ambrose and Kara characters by pairing them up. If you think they're going to be a couple, you're sadly mistaken. Kara and Ambrose both realize that Goku needs people to lean on, and that nobody in the army has really provided Goku with that sense of security for him to trust with. By proposing the deal she had, Goku is now(especially after hearing it from the girl's mouth himself) a little more accepting of the people around him instead of putting so much pressure on himself to go at it alone. Remember folks, this is a Red Ribbon Army story, and I'm doing my best to twist around the momentum of this story so as to better highlight the army's dynamics and relations. Of course there will still be the Z-Fighters for them to contend with and the villains we've come to know and love, but this story is meant to highlight the Red Ribbon right now as well as show a proper development for _Red Son _Goku as we traverse into the DBZ portion of the story. You guys all know how important to me it is that I do this right, as I feel like it will either make or break my story._

_Now, speaking of my story, Black was never planned to have any grand plot. I only wanted him to find a reason to quickly rebel so he could be dealt with rather easily. I plan on Commander Red being the head honcho of the army right now, and Black's existence kind of stood in the way of what I plan to do with the RRA. Trust me, there's about to be more development with characters other than Ambrose and Kara, so please stay tuned for the next chapter. Some old favorites are going to return, battles are going to begin, and the story is about to enter an exciting new direction... especially with King Furry's call in to meet the Briefs!  
><em>

**-Transformers g1's-Prime: Great chapter!**

**I'm a new-comer to this story and let me say that this is becoming one of my favorite stories in the DBZ category. **

**The idea of a Goku on the side of the Red Ribbon Army is an idea that I find interesting and the way you show it is downright terrifying. To see the normally hyperactive and kind Goku display a much colder attitude to those he would have called his friends in another universe is quite sad and I do hope that he makes up with Krillin before the Saiyans arrive, though personally, I can't wait to see his epic showdown with King Piccolo, a villain who I believe is highly underrated compared to one-dimensional villains like Broly.**

**Keep up the good work!**

If you've read my other story, you know how much I love King Piccolo. I'll do my best not to disappoint you!

**-Reichenfaust: Since the army is lasting much longer, will we eventually see Power-Armour, maybe MechWarrior's(developed from the "Path to Power" mechsuit), because the state it's in is far better, and probably enlarged?**

I've got a lot of neat inventions cooked up in my head, but I'm afraid I can't disclose them until the time comes. You won't have to wait long to see the army's improvements, however!

**-TheSkyBreakerV1: Nice chapter. I like this new side of Ambrose, knowing what the big threat is and with an open mind. Keep it up. Also, that snowstorm sucks. Got like 3 ft of snow! How about you?**

Same amount; shoveling it was a pain, but it's over now and that's all that matters, lol. Anyways, I appreciate the comment on Ambrose; not a lot of people really comment on OC development, so it's always nice to hear from folk who invest in the characters. I hope you enjoyed this side of him as well—the more protective side of him. Although we're about to fade away from the character interactions in favor of a straight out battle next chapter, I hope you continue to enjoy his character journey.

**-BurningSaiyan: I really enjoy your story and find pretty much no flaws in it, I just hope that you have Goku's eyes opened up to how the RR army has brainwashed him and then destroys the organization, brutally killing Commander Red, please don't let the Army survive until DBZ starts, I feel that that would hold back Goku's character too much.**

I don't like killing off characters until they've achieved all I feel they realistically can within my narrative without imposing on others' development. That isn't to confirm or deny anything, but just to let you know my thought process. We'll see what happens, but I can promise it'll be exciting!


	12. Chapter 12: A Forced Hand

_Sorry for this getting reuploaded! I was messing around with my iPad and making casual edits and this got scrapped. So here it is again, and since I'm here, I may as well tell you that Chapter 13 is well on its way to being completed. Hope you're all excited!_

* * *

><p><strong>War Saga - Part 3: A Forced Hand<strong>

"Shouldn't we be helping them, Master Shen?"

Shen opened his eye from his position against the back of the plane, narrowing it coldly at Chiaotzu. "No. The old fart refuses to tell us what these Dragon Balls can do, so we have no reason to aid him in getting them."

"If they can't trust us fully, we can't trust them, Chiaotzu." Tien bitterly responded, cracking the knuckles on his left fist. He seemed to be fully recovered from his injuries the previous day, though the bitter scowl that accompanied his defeat had not been lost quite yet. "We agreed to fight Piccolo. Nothing more, nothing less. If they want more from us, they're going to have to make the first move."

Chiaotzu remained silent after that. He knew, in reality, that all made sense. But there was something still incredibly perplexing to the small imp. 'Why is Master Shen acting so calm right now? All last night, he was so scared of the demon king. Does he have something planned that we don't know about?'

Before he could have the chance to inquire about his thoughts, the Turtle School collectively boarded the plane. Firmly within Gohan's hand was the three-star ball, which he clutched so firmly it was a miracle that the orange sphere didn't shatter in his hands.

"That makes three," Master Roshi responded, nodding at the Crane. In retaliation, Shen spat at his feet. "Okay, fine, have it your way. It won't be much longer before we have to discuss our next course of action anyway."

Little did Roshi know how right he was.

Suddenly, both the masters of the Crane and the Turtle felt a jolt run through their minds and surge through their entire body. As if controlled by a puppeteer, both immediately locked their eyes onto one another.

"You felt that, didn't you?" Roshi asked, immediately breaking his curt persona. "There's no way you couldn't have."

"Grrgh… yes, I did, old man," Shen grumbled. "That power doesn't _feel _evil… but it's definitely not anyone we know."

"M-Master, what are you talking about?" Krillin worked up the courage to ask, but Roshi motioned for him to keep quiet. If anything, that put him more on edge. 'Is it some new threat? Please, not another one! We have enough on our plate as it is!'

"I propose we check it out," Roshi offered. "If this warrior was really capable of defeating one of Piccolo's offspring, it would be nothing short of wise to team up with them."

All eyes went to Shen. He bristled at the spotlight before scowling and nodding faintly. "Remarkably, your demented mind has come up with a good idea. Take us there immediately."

"What about the Dragon Balls?" Tien suddenly cut in. With a hint of spite, he looked toward the Turtle School. "With how much emphasis you've put on collecting them, why would you abandon our original plan?"

"As long as we get one, Piccolo cannot have his-" Gohan was suddenly cut off by Roshi's harsh glare. The Turtle Hermit shook his head firmly, reminding Gohan of his desire to keep their capabilities quiet. "...cannot use them to fully realize his plans. Having as many as we can and then scattering them would have been ideal, but three is better than we could've asked for."

Not satisfied with the answer, Tien stood up and crossed the boundary line, standing tall over Gohan. "I'd probably agree with you, but you refuse to tell us what these damn things do. Mind enlightening us?"

Gohan showed no fear in his eyes as he stared back up at Tien. "I have no reason to."

"Want one?"

"Cool it, Tien Shinhan!" Shen suddenly shouted. As his student turned back toward him, Shen seethed at him. "Piccolo's demise comes first! We'll beat the information out of them later!"

Tien stared back at his master for a very long moment. Then, without a word, he walked back over to him and sat down in his original position, resuming the silence between the Turtle and the Crane. With little else to do, Roshi sat back in the piloting chair and took off once more.

* * *

><p>The vast forest that had served as the battlefield only less than an hour prior was now eerily quiet; the tension had all since evaporated. The battle had been fierce, a true test of skill, but the human had emerged from the battle with both a victory and a delectable meal.<p>

A good day in his book.

"Delicious," Yajirobe murmured to himself as he licked his lips, content with the feast he'd just partaken in. "That monster was pretty dang tasty, if I do say so myself…almost makes me wish another one would come along later for my next meal."

"Only because you asked so nicely."

Yajirobe immediately felt the change in the air pressure around him, whirling around and blocking a quickly-executed punch with his forearm before leaping backwards to avoid a rapid leg-sweep. Almost instinctively, the ronin slid into a fighting stance, his heart pounding from the adrenaline.

"You _are _rather impressive, I suppose," Tambourine acknowledged sincerely, rather impressed with his enemy's fighting ability. "Despite your outward appearance, you have a fighter's presence about you… I suppose I can see how you did kill Cymbal after all."

"You're his friend, huh?" came the brusque reply of Yajirobe. "Well, I sure hope you taste as good as he did—I dunno what the heck you guys are made up of, but it makes for some damn tasty grub."

"In that case, my apologies," retorted Tambourine with a devilish smirk as he assumed his own combat stance. "I regret to inform you that I happen to be stronger than Cymbal, and unlike him, you've made me rather _angry._ I don't exactly like having to put aside my mission to take care of a human that my foolish brother couldn't."

"Then you're after the same thing he was, huh?" Yajirobe gestured toward the sphere hung around his neck, watching as the demon's onyx eyes indeed locked onto the golden ball. "Too bad you're not getting your hands on it any time soon."

"Consider yourself lucky I don't have time to waste, human. I'd be able to enjoy this far, far more if I could really put you through the wringer… but I suppose this'll have to do…"

A slight twitch in the demon's wings caught the obese man's attention, prompting him to quickly throw up a defensive stance. Sure enough, his premonition was entirely valid as Tambourine launched forward with a taloned claw and attempted to rake out his foe's eyes; however, Yajirobe quickly guarded by shielding his face with his forearm and flinging his fist forward, burying it in the monster's exposed stomach and sending him tumbling backward in mid-air.

Yajirobe was quick to follow up on the attack, kicking off his foot and throwing a well-aimed punch at the scaled warrior's jawline. Unfortunately for him, his foe was just as quick to retaliate, tilting his head to avoid it before fighting back with a double-booted kick to the chest. As his foe staggered backwards, Tambourine performed a back-flip to create distance between him and his foe before firing off a quick blast from his maw, the small sphere colliding with the human's chest and knocking him flat to the ground.

"It's as I told you, human…" he snarled, his adrenaline running high as he prepared to pounce for the kill. "...you're _mine!"_

He dashed forward rapidly, a cackle ringing through the depths of the forest. Using his momentum to his advantage, he kicked off the ground before extending his razor-sharp claws forward. Then, maliciously, he grinned into Yajirobe's eyes and dove downward to finish off the burly man once and for all…

...however, just before he could impale the samurai warrior, Yajirobe had leapt up and connected with a rather ferocious headbutt to his skull, sending him skidding backwards as he clutched his head in agony.

"Heh! Nice try!" grinned Yajirobe, hoping to incite a reaction out of the demon. "I guess I'm stronger than both you and your tasty brother, aren't I?"

"S-Shut up…" Tambourine hissed. "I'll make mincemeat out of you, you punk! You'll regret having messed with me!"

Despite the very real threat of the demon being able to follow up on his promise, Yajirobe continued to gloat at the winged beast. "If you're gonna do that, you'd have to beat me first, right? I don't think you're gonna get the chance to do that, green bean! ...Hmm… wonder what you _would _taste like with some green bea—_crap_!"

He barely, just barely, was able to evade the demon's menacing claw, having rolled out of his path before drawing his katana in defense. Faster than the human eye could see, he flung himself forward and tried to cut through the winged warrior's stomach; however, the demon quickly leapt upward and raised his leg, kicking the pudgy fighter underneath his chin and snapping his cranium upward.

"Not so arrogant now, are you?" sneered the demon as he leapt backward, sizing up the human's dazed form. With another primal roar he barreled forward, connecting with a firm headbutt that sent Yajirobe tumbling backward until he righted himself with a quick flip upward. He then quickly launched himself back into the fight with another battle cry, testing his foe's defenses with a right hook before unleashing a swift combination that ended with the demon retreating, scurrying back as quickly as possible to create distance between the two of them.

"Don't think you're getting away!" Yajirobe sneered at his foe, quickly scooping up his sword from the ground and following in wild pursuit of his foe, swinging his blade in a diagonal motion and nearly disemboweling the demon. Had it not been for the winged beast's remarkable speed and agility, he would've certainly been done for.

However, the ronin was more than capable of fighting with more than just his sword, which he would prove by striking with an unexpected headbutt to the monster's solar plexus that knocked the wind right out of him. Quickly using Tambourine's pause to his advantage, he tightened his grip on his blade and swung, just barely managing to narrowly dig into the demon's lower hip before the demon kicked him backward out of reflex.

"Urrgh… you're going to pay for that one…" Tambourine vowed, clutching his fresh wound and trying to cauterize it immediately with his energy. "You're clever with your sword, human, but that's all that's keeping you alive right now."

"Yeah, yeah, keep talking," goaded Yajirobe, a small smirk spreading his features. "I guess all you've got left to do is run your mouth before it's over."

"D-Damn you!" Tambourine howled, again darting forward with a shrill howl, bloodlust the only thing on his mind. "I'll rip you to shreds and feast on your remains, just like you did my brother! HYAAAH!"

In preparation for the demon's attack, Yajirobe hastily sheathed his sword and took a combat stance before the monster's scaly arm shot forth and struck him across the skull. The demon then followed this up with a swift roundhouse kick that sent the burly fighter reeling, his vision beginning to spin as his foe viciously assaulted him with a flurry of punches and kicks. Finally, he gripped the ronin's arm and hurled him into the ground with a malicious grin, watching as he lay there unconscious…

...and then gaping in absolute shock as he flipped right back upward, nursing a fresh bruise on his rather chubby features.

"You know, that _was _a good shot. If you taste as good as you hit, this'll be another kickass meal," grinned Yajirobe as he stared into the horrified eyes of the demon. In truth, he was feeling a fair amount of fatigue, but he knew he could manage this pacing long enough to win so long as he avoided the monster's razor-sharp claws.

Across the battlefield, a scowl formed across the demon's face as reality dawned on him—the samurai's resilience was quite above the average fighter, perhaps even on his own level. Though he prided himself on his raw strength, Tambourine knew that his sheer force would not be enough to guide him to victory; it would take everything his father had instilled within him to emerge with his life.

"You may be a talented swordsman, but there's no conceivable way you'll be able to take me down in a sky battle!" Kicking off his foot, Tambourine ascended into the air, his wings flapping rapidly to keep him afloat. "Let's see how you handle fighting a foe you can't slice!"

Raising his palm, Tambourine generated a small sphere of white-hot ki in his hand before hurling it downward at the samurai, cackling madly as he watched it arc through the air and dash down toward his foe at a frightening pace. "So long, human!"

Yajirobe's eyes widened as he recognized his extreme disadvantage—he was in no way prepared to deal with an aerial battle. Despite his superior fighting ability when compared to the winged beast, he knew it was worth nothing in the slightest if he couldn't even strike his foe.

'But I've gotta try,' he inwardly reasoned, trying to will himself onward. 'If I don't, I'll miss out on another well-cooked meal!'

Just before the blast struck, the burly warrior was able to tumble to the side to evade it, feeling the heat of the energy radiate off the small flare as it tore into the ground. When he looked over, he saw the charred patches of grassland and inwardly shivered. 'T-That could've been me, dammit! I've gotta think of something, and I've gotta think of something fast!'

His attention was drawn onto the object in his grip, the metallic luster of the blade glistening due to the sunlight reflecting off it. Tightly clenching it, the obese fighter let out a baritone chuckle. "You may be able to blast me from above… but there's a way I can still bring you down."

"Enough of this! You've wasted enough of my time!" Tambourine howled, elevating his arm upward to generate another pulse of ki. "I won't stand for this mockery!" He fired yet another bolt of energy toward the samurai, this blast racing toward the ground faster than its predecessor, but the human was able to dodge his attack once more by running out of its path.

As he continued to run circles around his opponent, Yajirobe flashed him a grin. "C'mon, ugly, try it again! See how it works out for you, you green little punk!"

Tambourine seemingly indulged him, raising his arm and snarling like a rabid beast of nature. "In the name of my father, you will meet your end right here and right now!"

THACKKK! He was suddenly sent spiraling to the ground by an unseen force, his form smashing into the ground and tearing up the blades of grass upon impact. He hadn't seen or felt anything prior to the collision; it had simply felt as if a meteor had smacked the back of his skull and gravity had thrown him to the ground in the harshest manner it could.

Though the pain made his vision rather groggy, he still found the inner strength to pull his head up and focus on the new arrival. He was rather short, almost comparable to the boy he had fought earlier, only this one was without a head of hair and was donned in an entirely orange gi.

The new arrival then descended to the ground, keeping a slow and steady pace as he approached Tambourine. "You're the one who took that Dragon Ball, aren't you?" He threw a quick glance toward Yajirobe and nodded, seemingly communicating to him that he was on their side.

Despite fatigue afflicting him with numerous injuries as he stood, the monster still found it within him to smile maliciously as he recalled his crafty thievery. "And what if I was? Surely you don't think you'll be able to retrieve the sphere back, do you?"

Just as quickly as the young boy had arrived, a handful of characters seemed to appear beside him more figures darted in to flank his sides—five of them, in fact. All of them seemed to hold their gazes on the scaly beast, seemingly preparing to fight.

Tambourine watched as 'W-Were they all planning to intercept me like this?! H-How… how could all these martial artists possibly know who I am?' If the odds weren't against him before, they certainly were now. Seven fighters stood across the field of battle from him, each ready to strike in a moment's notice. One particularly caught his eye. "_You…"_

"That's right," the elderly man replied. "I'm the one you tried to ambush back at the tournament. I'm here to take back that Dragon Ball!"

While he would normally flash a sadistic grin toward his opponent and retort with a taunt, Tambourine couldn't keep up the facade any longer—he was truly outmatched and he knew it. Acting smug would only diminish his foes' patience. "I-I don't have it anymore!"

"Let's be serious here!" Tien barked, clenching his fist and raising it toward the wounded demon. "I know you killed Son Gohan when you took the list of competitors for the tournament as well as the Dragon Ball. Now hand it over immediately before my friends and I are required to use force!"

"Oh, I'm afraid my loyal minion is telling the truth when he says he's no longer in possession of the Dragon Ball."

* * *

><p>Master Roshi felt a chill run through the air as he heard that sickening baritone voice, the mere tone triggering the scent of death and the shrieks of horror that accompanied it. The hounds of war howled as soon as he heard that demonic voice, his worst nightmare all too real.<p>

There, levitating in the blue sky of Earth, was the epitome of horror, the devil's favorite demon. He was garbed in a navy blue attire with the demon insignia on his back, the all too terrifying shade of green skin, and that same sickening grin that accompanied the death of thousands.

The Demon King Piccolo was indeed reborn, his power just as horrid and wicked as before.

"I believe I have the item you are searching for…" Piccolo began, reveling in the horrified gazes of the humans below him. "But are you willing to challenge my power to attain it?"

* * *

><p>"Thank you very much for meeting with me today, Doctor and Miss Briefs," King Furry began as the two took their seats, almost nervously eyeing the handful of guards that stood in an organized fashion around the office. "Please, don't worry about them. This is just standard procedure."<p>

"All right," Doctor Briefs responded slowly and carefully. Giving his full attention to the king, he cleared his throat. "So what exactly is it that you want from me? My daughter passed the message along, but apparently there weren't many details."

King Furry nodded his head. "I'm sorry about that. I would've given you more detail over the phone, but I believed it would be better to hold this meeting in person. Please, forgive me for ruining whatever plans you must've had."

"The minute I'd heard about the Red Ribbon, you had my immediate attention," the elder of the two scientists responded. "So no apology is necessary."

"Excellent," King Furry responded. He rummaged through his desk for a moment, fumbling through a disorganized clutter before he pulled out a picture. He slid over that picture to Bulma. "Do you recognize this man?"

"Umm… a little," Bulma admitted, raising her father's interest.

"What do you mean by that, dear?"

"I swear I've seen his face before. Maybe in, like, a history book or something…" Bulma scratched her head. "...but I just can't put a name to his face. I'm sorry."

"That," Furry cut back in, returning the focus back to him, "is a picture of Commander Enier in his prime. He was one of my most trusted commanders to battle the Red Ribbon Army, if not my most trusted." He sighed. "His home, Candle Village, was raided and slaughtered by the Red Ribbon Army. Candle Village is well-known for its rich oil supply, so it's not a surprise that they would target such an area."

"So you're saying that they attacked it as both a means of getting their name out there and excavating resources," the doctor responded. "Seems in line with what a bunch of rotten souls like the Red Ribbon would do."

"Well… they didn't _just _manage to do that." King Furry bowed his head. "As a personal favor to Commander Enier, once he called in for assistance, I sent out a fair portion of the King's Guard to subdue them. I figured that not only would I be able to help out a close friend in need, I could also demonstrate that the Guard would stand in their way. Even though we outnumbered them... we were handed a swift defeat with no survivors."

"Was the entire army present?" Doctor Briefs immediately asked. "Because in that case, at least you know the numbers that you're going to need to prepare for."

"This was only a handful of their overall forces, Doctor," Furry depressingly remarked, causing both father and daughter to share concerned looks. "I believe, however, that there is a way to recover from this. I've done some reading into what Enier relayed to me, and I strongly believe that the reason the Red Ribbon won that encounter is because of superior militarial tactics. That's where you come in."

"Ummm… we aren't exactly fighters," Bulma awkwardly responded. "We're designers and scientists. How are we supposed to help you if your problem is that their army is better trained?"

"Weapon construction," Doctor Briefs suddenly cut in, tugging a smile out of King Furry. "Am I wrong?"

"Yes. I'm not going to ask either of you to partake in combat, don't worry. All I can ask for is for you to design some revolutionary weaponry-I will put no boundaries on your creativity. Anything that you feel will turn the tide against the Red Ribbon can and will be considered."

"We could probably do such a thing," Doctor Briefs considered. "However, I'm not so sure that we're well-versed in this sort of thing. We'd need to bring back a few weapons as templates and prototypes to build off."

"That should be of no concern," King Furry assuaged. "So long as you agree to work on these weapons and produce results within the month, I would be more than happy to lend you some basics to familiarize yourself with."

"A month?!" Bulma almost shouted, catching the attention of the guards. They almost moved in on her, but Furry waved them off, something she quickly thanked him for before continuing. "But… we're planning to launch a brand new capsule in two weeks!"

"It's been well-publicized, I'm sure," King Furry responded. "But I'm afraid I'll have to ask you both to prioritize this first. If it's really that much of a concern, I have no issues with funding you the projected profits you would have made. I will do anything to get one of the world's biggest corporations on my side."

"Oh, all right…" Bulma pouted. "I understand. It's just that this is going to keep us and our other top scientists up all night for weeks on end!"

"It will be worth it if it means we have a hand in stopping the Red Ribbon Army, Bulma," Doctor Briefs offered. He thought it over for a few brief moments, then soon extended his hand. "You have yourself a deal, King Furry. You have our full cooperation."

* * *

><p>Bulma remained silent as the two continued to converse, her thoughts being drowned in the reality that both her father and her king didn't know the full depths of the Earth's peril. All she could do was pray that her friends had the Piccolo situation under control…<p>

...or else things were about to get a whole lot worse.

* * *

><p>Little did she know, a man beyond the skies himself shared those sentiments.<p>

* * *

><p><em>And that should conclude Chapter 12! I did say I wanted to take the events of the previous chapter slower, but when I said that, I basically meant that this was going to be everything I had originally cut from Chapter 11. I felt like it would've ruined the ending to Chapter 11 as well as be too fast-paced in general. So we have this chapter.<em>

_This is, noticeably, the first chapter not to feature the Red Ribbon Army in a direct role. Do, however, realize that is only a by-product of this chapter being what I trimmed from Chapter 11 and that it does not signify a change in character importance. As promised, the battle between Piccolo and company has kicked off in full, and we're going to see the Red Ribbon Army's reaction to learning of Piccolo's emergence next chapter. That chapter, as has been mentioned, has seen most to all of its content written, but I'm going to hold off on uploading it until… let's say February 4th, or this Friday, just to give myself a little bit of time to edit it properly. I hope that the intrigue of Capsule Corp allying with the crown and the Piccolo battle will entice you to return!_

_**And now! Before I forget… I've started a YouTube channel. Yup. I don't intend for it to be a full time job very much at all, but I've desired to start one ever since August and realized that there's no time like the present. I have no content up at the moment because I am still in the process of buying the proper equipment and programs, but my end goal is to start producing content as soon as the end of February. I have a Twitter for this channel that is serving as both promotional means for this channel as well as just commenting on my nerdy interests like **_**Dragon Ball, Pokemon, Smash Brothers, **_**and anything else in general. I'm also thinking about posting stuff that's relevant to this story, although those would pretty much be to let folk know when chapters are coming out(maybe. I dunno yet). I should have Dragon Ball Z Let's Plays, Pokemon runthroughs, Smash and Call of Duty content… pretty much anything that my fans would want to see and I have the capability of producing. Any form of support would be greatly appreciated!**_

_**If you would like to follow me and/or start up any conversations, my handle is DeltaDialgaYT; on YouTube, I am known as DeltaDialgaProductions for now. If you're interested in watching my content when things go live, feel free to subscribe there too! **_

(By the way - I swear that I won't be hyping this channel every chapter. I'm only going to talk about it here, in my opening chapter, and then hopefully at the end of February when I start releasing content. I can get why reading these kinds of ads would be annoying, but this was a sincere attempt at spreading the word.)

_Hope to see you all back here on Friday!_

**TheSkyBreakerV1: Another great chapter! Well I did not see one thing coming: Kara "teaming" up with Ambrose to become Goku's...parents? **

**I mean, Kara did just meet him and based off her attitude in previous chapter's it's weird that she's suddenly becoming his 'mother', emotionally of course.**

**Other than that, it was great. I can understand why you'd kill off Officer Black. He was just a useless plot device in my opinion. **

**See you next chapter!**

That's easy to resolve. Kara, as we have seen, loves to get herself associated with those in power. Why wouldn't she create ties to Goku, the strongest the army has ever seen? Especially by electing to become his 'mother,' Kara has essentially made herself untouchable. It's kind of like how, by extension of being Enier's granddaughter in Candle Village, everyone automatically thought the world of her. Of course, she still has to cultivate bonds with Ambrose and Goku for her to truly be secure. We'll see how those efforts turn out in the chapters to come, as well as if she truly cares for either as a whole.

**You know what I wonder, if a Senzu bean could restore Goku his sight. I mean they're said to heal all manners of major injuries look at Gohan during the Frieza Saga he had a broken Jaw and during the Saiyan Saga Krillin had taken a hell of a beating as had Gohan and once they'd eaten a Senzu they were fully healed and at full strength or in Gohans case a little bit stronger. Also I have to ask couldn't Gero use the computer on Goku's Space Pod to learn what exactly Goku was and use that to his advantage making Goku that much stronger?**

Future Gohan believed that eating the last senzu bean would've granted him his left arm back. I see no reason why Goku's sight wouldn't be restored by him consuming one of the magical beans. Except… why would Korin give him one?

**Another great chapter with sound reasoning. But damn as this goes into Dbz what'll happen will Goku be the intergalactic conquerer of the red ribbon army? How insane would that be. Like for some reason he has to go to namek and does the whole frieza thing but then like goes a-conquering? And what about Radit, surely at the point of which he arrives the RRA with Goku would've conquered the earth so he kinda did his mission? Will he go with him? What'll happen? And then what about the pairing will it be an OC? Chichi somehow? Maybe a female Vegeta? Will he just have concubines? The possibilities are endless!**

**I'm not asking for answers cuz then why would I read it but giving ideas though I'm sure whatever you choose will be great to read.**

**Can't wait til the next chapter**

The only reason I put this here was to vomit at the idea of a female Vegeta. I'm not bashing anyone who likes the idea of it, but I _hate _screwing around with genders and all that sort of thing. All I can say is that Goku will definitely have some adventures and that a bunch of concubines are out of the question. I'm not even that comfortable with the idea of it existing in the first place, much less Goku partaking in that sort of activity. I like to think that I've painted my Goku in a light that he wouldn't needlessly… err… get involved that way with others.

**-Supersaiyaninfinitygohan: The beginning and ending of the scene were well and okay, but the middle, all of their sharing of life stories, felt really OOC for both of them. Each of them had been established as people who sheltered their real selves under facades and knew the other's game, but simply began spouting life stories to one another.**

It's true that both are cognizant of the other's true personality. However, Kara revealing her life story could have easily been a manipulation tactic on her end; similarly, Ambrose's telling his own could have been leading to something greater. We don't really know yet. These two characters aren't really able to be analyzed at their surface, I feel. I hope that any characters that I have and will create hold that same sort of aura about them.


	13. Chapter 13: Ancient Power

**War Saga - Part 4: Ancient Power**

As he stared down at the collection of fighters below, sizing each and every one of them up in his mind, the demon king couldn't help but let a smirk spread across his aged features. Each and every one of them seemed to tremble with horror at his presence, no doubt aware of his unrivaled power and his prior reign over Earth.

Still, though, something seemed terribly off about the group: the fighters seemed to stand in unity, their miens conveying all the same expression. Surely they were allies, but how would they have caught wind of his plans so easily?

'It doesn't matter in the end, I suppose,' concluded the demon king as he began his descent toward the ground, eyes locked with the formation of fighters. 'They shall all fall to my might… and once I rid myself of the Earth's remaining fighters, none will oppose my wrath...'

"M-Master!" Tambourine cried jovially, pleased to see that his master had come for him. Though he'd been in a rough predicament before, it seemed as if the tides had turned, leaving the humans as the ones in peril. "T-Thank goodness you've come! They… they're all powerful, more so than we could've ever guessed!"

Upon hearing his subordinate's voice cry out for him, Piccolo turned his head and let loose a firm scowl. "You should be lucky your brother fell before you did, Tambourine. Had my senses not been attuned toward this battle due to my…_concern_… about our enemies' battle power, you wouldn't be seeing the light of day right now."

His words immediately shut Tambourine up, nervous beads of sweat drizzling down his brow. Never had he seen his master so poised and focused; it was almost as if he was an entirely different person. 'C-Could Lord Piccolo be nervous about the battle ahead? I-Is there actually a chance he might not be able to win?'

An aged, taloned index finger was pointed in an upward direction, revealing Pilaf's airship where the remaining minions were. "Go, Tambourine. It's obvious you will be of no use to me during this battle."

"B-But—"

"_Go_..." Piccolo snarled, his piercing gaze as unrelenting as ever. Despite his master's old age, Tambourine was well aware of his awe-inspiring power—it wasn't one he would want to be matched up against any time soon. "...Before I reconsider sparing you despite your failure."

If nothing else, those eight words opened Tambourine's eyes to the situation he was in. Knowing he would be chastised for his failure later, he stole one remaining glance at his father's enemies, hissed at them vehemently, and then took off to follow his master's orders, feeling the heat of Piccolo's gaze follow him until he had successfully boarded the airship.

Upon seeing Tambourine's figure fade into the ship, Piccolo returned his gaze to the Earth's fighters, an aged smile playing across his features. "Now, with the weakling out of the way, feel free to let loose. I must warn you that despite my frail appearance, I am single-handedly capable of decimating you all. My power is unmatched on this planet, even when compared to your combined might… and if you want to run now, I wouldn't blame you."

"Like we'd ever back down from someone like you!" spat Roshi boldly as he glared into the demon's eyes, his fury and anger all too prevalent in his words. "I'd never let you complete your wicked plans!"

In response, Piccolo raised his brow in mock amusement. "Oh? You actually _do _plan to oppose me? What a shame. You could've perhaps lived a while longer. Not in the case of you old men," he smirked evilly at Roshi, Gohan, and Shen, "but at least the young ones could've. However, you've all signed your own tombstones by electing to stay here." He gently levitated down to the ground, folding his arms.

Tien scowled at the arrogance Piccolo had on him as he began a slow, ominous stride toward the group of warriors. _"There's no way he has the strength to back this up! Is he actually implying he could take on all of us?"_

"_He can, Tien," _he heard his mentor telepathically respond. _'And he's going to. We have to come up with something… anything… to get a fatal shot on him."_

Tien looked to either of his sides, seeing his fellow allies - if they could even be called that - tighten their battle stances. Slowly, carefully, the corners of his lips turned upward in a devious and knowing smirk.

"_I've got an idea, master."_

* * *

><p>'They don't need me.'<p>

That was the one resounding thought that pinballed throughout Gohan's mind as Piccolo approached. 'I'm an elderly man who's past his prime. Master Roshi has more experience than any of us do… and I'm sure Yamcha could learn well from him.' With a brief glance over to his master, Gohan sighed. 'I'm the one who has little else to live for… while everyone around me has so much left to do.'

In truth, he did know the Evil Containment Wave. That was a fact he'd kept well-guarded from his master. Paranoia on his end from all the stories he'd heard about Piccolo had compelled him to dig deep into the origins of the move following his graduation from Roshi's training, and though he'd scoured the world for several years to do so, his labor was rewarded generously when he'd heard about the properties of the technique. From there, it hadn't taken long to emulate it.

But there was more to the story now. Goku, the Red Ribbon soldier, was easily the biggest threat right behind Piccolo. Even with the demon king gone, the world wasn't safe from total anarchy.

Even as Gohan considered this fact, he wearily smiled. 'But one threat is better than two, right?'

He flung himself forward, dashing toward the demon and kicking off the battle with a mighty punch to his adversary's aged cheekbone. The shock and surprise of the human containing such power within his aged form forced Piccolo to stagger backward, applying pressure to the bone in order to ease the pain.

"Gohan, no!" Roshi cried in protest, gripped with fear at the fact that his student had been so reckless. Gohan never had been one to lose his cool; he'd thought his student could keep a level head—perhaps all the legend and lore of Piccolo's wrath had affected him more than he could've anticipated. "You're going to be killed if we don't attack together!"

Not heeding the warning, Gohan landed on the ground for a split-second before he pounced again, a battle cry accompanying his high kick to his foe's skull. Again, the blow went unguarded, eliciting an audible crack that echoed around the reticent forest lands.

Gohan performed a few backflips to regain distance from his foe, panting heavily as rational thought returned to him. The sight of his foe's aching, groggy form was enough to pull a smile on his drenched visage. "Haah… haah…"

But his satisfaction would soon wither away with the mere sound of the demon king's laughter, immediately snapping the elderly man out of his illusion and reminding him of his foe's continued existence. In one fluent motion, the green-skinned figure had regained his posture and his menacing grin as if he hadn't been hit at all.

"I will admit, you're quite powerful—even more so than I'd anticipated. Never had I expected for one of my children to fall to a lowly human… tell me, which one of you was responsible for that? Was it you, old man?"

"W-What the…?" Krillin stuttered, subconsciously stepping back toward his allies. 'H-How could he possibly just take Gohan's full-powered attacks without even feeling any pain at all?! ...Master was right… this guy's a monster...'

Yajirobe, despite all his previous bravado, now had been reduced to trembling in his boots, unable to muster up even the slightest response. 'Those were the minions of _Piccolo_? Damn it, what the hell did I just get myself into?!'

A small scowl adorned Roshi's face as he raised his fist, clenching it tightly to prevent himself from making any irrational movements. "Does it really matter, Piccolo? We know all about your reign of tyranny over the Earth—you'd sooner snap our necks than allow us to get away."

"Heh! I'm impressed that you know my name despite my last appearance on Earth being so long ago… enough so that I'd normally ask how you know it. But there are more pressing matters at hand." His eyes narrowed at the group of fighters, indicating that the time for idle threats was over. "Now… the Dragon Balls. I'm aware you've got them stashed around here _somewhere_, so if you would be so kind as to fetch them… I might consider making your deaths painless."

"Do you really think we'll just hand them over to you?!" the Turtle Hermit exclaimed loudly, disgusted with the mere notion that he would submit to the demon. "That time you spent in containment must've really slowed your brain down!"

A visible twitch in the aged warrior's face was evident after that taunt, Piccolo's face contorting into the foulest of glares he could muster up. "You have no way of knowing I was sealed in that jar," he darkly hissed, small tendrils of energy arcing around his fingertips to accentuate his rage. "How could you possibly know about my original reign over Earth?! No human has a lifespan _that _long…"

An elderly voice, broken down by the natural progression of time, was the only sound that could be heard around the isolated forest."If you really want to know… this isn't our first meeting, Piccolo. The last time… I wasn't alone. I was with my master."

"W-What are you even—?"

"His name was Master Mutaito!" Roshi grinned, a knowing look in his eye as Piccolo was visibly taken aback by the mere mention of his mentor. "We both know why you fear him… you're concerned he might have passed down his knowledge of the Evil Containment Wave, aren't you? His teachings do indeed live on through me, but solely me alone—you have no reason to target any more fighters any longer if I fall."

Krillin immediately whipped his head to look at his master's grinning expression, shell-shocked by his bold approach to the situation. 'M-Master… why would you make yourself a target like that?! And what's worse… why would you lie to us? Is he really that powerful that you had to refrain from telling us all this?'

* * *

><p>Gohan remained deathly silent.<p>

* * *

><p>'Hold your horses, kid. Your master has a better plan in mind than I'd thought.'<p>

'Wha—Tien?!' the ex-monk internally exclaimed, his eyes stealing a glance at the triclops' form. He was perfectly still, concentrating on the enemy, yet he somehow had pervaded through the child's consciousness and had opened some form of telepathic link with him. 'How did you even do that?'

'Master Shen taught me how to connect with another person's mind and hold a conversation, but that's beside the point. It took me a second to figure all of this out, but Roshi _did _have plans to use the attack—he hadn't accounted for everyone else's presence. If he tried the attack right now, his minions could swoop down and strike him when he's exposed, both dooming us without a fighter and rendering him dead. Had the circumstances been different and there wasn't a warrior there to stop him, I've got the feeling that he would've given his life to end it all right then and there.'

'But why would he let it slip that he knows the technique?' Krillin asked, trying his hardest not to spare a glance over at his fellow fighter. If Piccolo was able to catch onto their sudden connection, they wouldn't likely live much longer.

'Because...' Tien paused for a moment, determining how best to word this. After taking an extra breath, he 'spoke' again, this time more slowly and carefully. '...I don't think he believes he'll make it out of here alive.'

Instantaneously, Krillin knew exactly what the triclops was suggesting; he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it sooner. In his master's mind, of course it would make sense—he was attempting to appease the demon with the knowledge that the Evil Containment Wave would cease with his existence so that they could live to see another day. After all, he would surely believe that sacrificing one life would be more pragmatic than the remainder of them falling, even if it wasn't likely that Piccolo would spare their lives in the slightest. Did he really just not have any faith in their chances any longer?

Feeling the link with his comrade sever itself, Krillin suddenly felt a terrible lump in his throat as he thought of all the memories he'd shared with his master. From all the training they'd gone through, the world tournaments they'd experienced together… he could remember it all so clearly. Despite how much his peers had belittled and taunted him into believing he could never be a successful fighter, they'd been far from the truth. His life had turned around since departing from Orin Temple, performing a one-eighty all thanks to the kindness and generosity of one hermit. Had he not truly pinched himself and recognized how fortunate he had been, he could've sworn that this experience was a _half-remembered dream_.

'Master… you can't die…' Krillin thought to himself, a single tear cascading down his cheek and falling to the still grass below. 'I can't be a part of this next generation you spoke about before ...not when the world needs you… n-not when… _I _need you...'

"Well, well, is your little chat finished?" sneered the demon king at the child, his eyes widening in utter shock. "In case you weren't aware, I too have the capability of opening mental links with my children. While I can't exactly intrude upon each individual word you said, I was able to predict enough that you were concerned about not having the time to properly mourn your demises. I figured it wouldn't be a proper sendoff without allowing you to say your goodbyes."

"As if!" Tien snarled, cracking his knuckles before pounding his fists together. "You may be more powerful than anything the Earth's ever seen, but there's no way in hell we'll let you take over the world without a fight!"

"This is the end of the road for you, Piccolo!" shouted Roshi as he too prepared for close combat with the demon. "For every single martial artist's life you've had your demons tear away from their loved ones, you'll pay tenfold!"

Yajirobe gripped his katana, recognizing he had no other option but to ally with the human fighters or face the demon king's wrath alone. "Yeah, that's right! We're gonna dine on your flesh!"

Alongside him, Krillin took up a fighting stance as he readied himself for battle. "I don't care what Master said about your power; when there's a will, there's a way!"

"Well, then," Piccolo cackled as he thrust a palm forward, charging it with a faint yellow hue of energy. "Make your move!" With that, he howled in malicious laughter as the wave of ki shot forth, forcing the fighters to zip out of the way as quickly as possible.

Krillin, Gohan, and Roshi followed their martial arts styling, quickly leaping backwards to avoid the demon king's attack and create distance between them. Tien, having a different schooling, leapt upward into the air to avoid being stung by the wave.

Yajirobe, however, was the wild factor—possessing only the knowledge he had taught himself, he was without any sort of technique whatsoever. He merely tucked and rolled out of the way, but this had foolishly left him susceptible to attack—something that Piccolo was quick to capitalize on, darting forward and landing a firm kick to the side of his opponent's skull that sent him flat onto his back.

"That's one down," he grinned sinisterly, raising a sharpened claw in order to end the human's existence. "Really, I'm stunned that someone like you had the power to match my children. But I suppose your raw power has failed you…. RRGH!"

Tien, crossing the distance of the forest in what seemed to be a split-second, rammed shoulder-first into his adversary with all the force he could muster up. The impact certainly stunned him, forcing him to tumble backward awkwardly until he landed face-first on the grass.

"Rgh…" Piccolo snarled as he stood tall once more, brushing off the debris of his gi as he looked toward the triclops. "That was quite a nice shot. But can it compare to _this?!_"

Kicking off the ground, the demon darted forth and buried his mighty fist right into Tien's midsection, all three of the latter's eyes glazing over in sheer pain. Then, just as quickly, he struck with a swift headbutt before being interrupted by Krillin's sliding kick, having to guard that with his left arm.

"Despite your puny strength, you have the ability to work together, don't you?" Piccolo commented as he let Tien drop to the ground in pain while still keeping a firm hold on Krillin's leg. "It's a shame; that would've worked well on any other opponent…"

He tightened his grip on the boy's leg, applying enough pressure to just slightly twist the bone until it was bent at an unnatural angle. While the sound of the bone cracking itself was already thrilling to the sadistic demon, the cries and shrieks that accompanied it were music to his ears.

"...but not the Demon King Piccolo!" the monster shouted to the heavens, performing a one-eighty and hurling the bald child into the approaching Roshi, the force of impact slamming them both down into the grass. He already felt Gohan's presence from above, which he swiftly rectified by ducking downward to avoid his roundhouse kick and raising his legs up from behind, the sole of his moccasin crashing against his back and sending him flying away.

Tien used the opportunity to flip back upwards, whipping himself at the demon and trying to connect with a rapid barrage of jabs. Each one made firm contact with the green-skinned warrior, forcing him to resort into a slight defensive tactic, but the flurry itself felt like a swarm of wasps than anything else.

"Give up now," the demon king sneered as he endured another wave of strikes, a demonic grin flashing upon his features. In the split-moment that Tien used to breathe, Piccolo threw a quick punch that slammed into Tien's brow and another to the solar plexus that knocked the wind right out of him as he dropped to the floor. "If you simply tell me where the Dragon Balls are, I'll cease all this pointless battle, slaughter the one with the knowledge of the Evil Containment Wave, and be on my way."

"You're not… ruling this Earth..." Tien coughed, trying desperately to refill his lungs with air. "...Y-You're asking me to stand aside from my destiny. What I was born to do. As long as I have the means to fight… I-I will…"

In mock amusement, the green-skinned warrior plucked the triclops up by his skull, his obsidian eyes of terror staring into his foe's very soul. "Those are some motivating words, I'll give you that." He reared back his free palm, tightening it into a fist and sneering sadistically. "But they mean nothing if you can't back them up."

THUMMM! Piccolo's fist slammed against the triclops' unguarded rib-cage, slamming directly against the warrior's bone and sending him barreling backwards until he collided with the bare bark of a tree. Needless to say, he was down and out for the time being.

But he had no time to rest whatsoever; from behind, Krillin struck with a dropkick to the spine that sent Piccolo awkwardly stumbling forward and left him susceptible to a spinning kick from Roshi that actually managed to force him to the ground. Both fighters gave a curt nod to each other before they kicked off the forest grounds, darting at their opponent from two different directions.

Piccolo scowled at the sneak attack before using his lengthy limbs to his advantage, cutting the master-student duo with a quick sweep of his legs. From there, he used the momentum to roll back on his feet and punt the hermit backward, sending him tumbling on his side until he came to a full stop. As he pivoted on his heel, he tucked his leg backward before burying it into Krillin's side, leaving him to suffer the same fate as his master.

"Pesky Earthlings…" Piccolo muttered to himself, seeing Yajirobe clumsily attempt to regain his footing. "D'AAAH!" He fired a quick bolt of energy at the samurai that was sent right into his chest, knocking the wind straight out of him as it detonated and forced his foe down yet again.

Suddenly, Piccolo sensed Roshi's sudden revival, his energy signal rapidly approaching him from behind. Swiftly, he spun around and swung his arm in a knife-edge chop, sending him spiraling to the right before being blasted in the stomach by another energy bolt.

Looking to his side, he saw that Krillin was once again to blame for the attack. He scowled. 'I don't know where those other ones went… but if these fighters keep this up much longer, it's going to be one hell of a battle.'

Observing the battle from high in Piccolo's airship, Mai was simply floored with the demon king's impressive might. "W-What unbelievable power! He's just knocking them around as if they're mere flies on the wall!"

* * *

><p>"Tch!" Tambourine gave an annoyed scoff as he continued to nurse his injuries, sparing quick glances down at his master below. "Clearly you fools were in the dark in regards to his actual power. Not only is Lord Piccolo the most powerful being to have ever walked the Earth, his power far eclipses that of any combination."<p>

Piano concurred, nodding his pterodactyl cranium with a grin. "I must admit that I lacked faith in our master to take on four formidable foes who were capable of dispatching of Cymbal individually… but now I'm convinced he is without any challenge. Our ruling over Earth isn't far from our grasp now."

"Yeah!" Pilaf shouted giddly, raising a stubby arm upward in encouragement. "Now… let's talk business. When Piccolo takes care of these meddling punks, it won't be long before he takes over Earth. Which half of the Earth are we taking as our own?"

"Half?" Tambourine sneered, a raspy laugh forcing its way through his lips. "I'm sorry to say, but once these four are disposed of, I doubt that our master will see any more use in you. Once he gives the call, you'll be following those weaklings straight into the Otherworld."

"W-WHAT?!" the trio cried out in unison, each of them chilled to the bone with nothing short of fear. Was Piccolo truly that heartless to simply forget how he'd escaped his captivity to begin with?!

"Y-You've got to be kidding me!" shrieked Shu, his eyes widening until they were nearly the size of dinner plates. After all him and his cohorts had done to aid Piccolo in his quest, it was just stunning 'I-I don't wanna die… there's still so much I've got to live for!'

"Oh, please don't kill us!" Pilaf winced, dropping to his knees and keeling over in a last-ditch attempt to get in the demons' good graces. "We can still offer you all so much more than you realize! W-We can be your enforcers! The public knows our faces and will fear us, and in addition, there's still my own empire we can add to the mix!" He wasn't about to admit that his 'empire' consisted of one castle in the Mushroom Forest, but at this point, it was irrelevant. He didn't care about ruling any longer… all he wanted was to ensure he'd escape with his hide intact.

There was no reply from the winged beast, which only made Pilaf and friends whimper with fear and anxiety regarding their fates. All of them turned their attention to the battle, the trio recognizing that their fate truly hung on the outcome. If the rebellion won, they would live… but if Piccolo won, there was little to no chance of their survival.

* * *

><p>In all his time as a martial artist, Krillin had never experienced pain like he had now. Despite being one of the most powerful fighters the Earth had to offer and having been able to stand toe-to-toe with many warriors older than himself, it had only taken Piccolo a few strikes to fell him and leave him a broken mess on the battlefield.<p>

'T-This isn't what Master would want of me...' Krillin internally reasoned, trying futility to push up off the ground with his left arm. His master had vowed to fight until his dying breath, much like his master before him. Krillin knew that live or die today, he'd make his master proud. 'I…I've gotta keep fighting… for the Earth… for everyone!'

Summoning up his resolve, the Turtle student made it to his knees and panted heavily. He could see the demon strolling toward Yajirobe with a menacing cackle, ready to end the samurai's life once and for all.

Krillin would be damned if he did.

Mustering up every ounce of strength within him, Krillin fully stood, favoring his right leg as he did so. The pain of the twisted bone still unfortunately lingered, but he knew it was something he'd have to cope with if he wanted to keep on fighting.

Exhaling, Krillin tried to drown out the world around him, concentrating solely on harnessing his energy into his body and his target. While he'd normally be able to execute any sort of ki attack within the span of a few seconds, the searing, white-hot pain rushing throughout his leg made it rather difficult to concentrate on his energy.

"C-C'mon…" Krillin murmured to himself as he saw Piccolo continue his deadly saunter toward Yajirobe, now only a few short moments away from his weakened ally. It wouldn't be long before the ronin met his end if he wasn't able to gather enough energy in time.

Suddenly, Krillin… _changed. _The world around him became crystal-clear, Piccolo's dark-green skin suddenly becoming a bright and dazzling olive hue. He looked down at his arms and saw that they were crackling in static lines, a clear sign that he'd left a perfect afterimage of his physical form right where he was standing.

And in that one moment where he recognized his Shaolin Mirage had worked perfectly, Krillin zipped forward, ever so silently dashing toward his opponent while leaving impeccable afterimages of himself in his trails.

* * *

><p>Piccolo's moccasin-covered feet came to a full stop in front of the fallen samurai, sneering at his fallen opponent as he tried to regain complete consciousness. Though he had prolonged the man's death for far too long, the demon king knew it was time to end his opponent's suffering.<p>

"Consider it an honor that you've opposed me now..." chuckled Piccolo sinisterly as he thrust an arm forward and charged it with a golden sphere of light. "...for in only a day's time, this world will have been plagued with anarchy and despair…"

"YAAAH!"

Piccolo immediately re-directed his energy back into himself, whipping around and snarling at what appeared to be a perfect afterimage of his opponent. Knowing he'd been duped into sparing the fighter for a second longer, Piccolo whipped around to confirm that Yajirobe was still laying semi-conscious as he was before…

...and sure enough, he'd been moved, settled down to the ground by yet another afterimage of his child-like foe.

"How dare you mock me?!" Piccolo snarled, opening his maw and firing off a brilliant blast of a golden hue at the duo, consuming them both in his pure and utter rage with deadly accuracy. Much to his surprise, however, the beam hadn't just stopped and swallowed them whole; it continued to stream forward as if _nothing _had been hit.

And much to Piccolo's chagrin, he found this out a minute too late. He whirled around and indeed felt a double-booted kick to the sternum, eliciting a gag of pain from his aged lips. His foe was much too savvy to allow the opening to go to waste, punching and kicking the demon king with everything he had in his arsenal.

"Why don't you just…" Piccolo hissed, the constant blows raining down on his body taking more of a toll on him than he would've liked to admit, "**give up?!"** He reared his fist back for a split-second before launching it forward, slamming the ex-monk back with both the physical force of his blow in addition to the kiai he'd summoned with his sheer strength. The force of impact sent Krillin sailing back until his nearly unconscious body skidded into the now-torn blades of grass.

Piccolo took a moment to assess the situation, eyeing the two unconscious bodies in the area and scowling to himself as he realized he could barely handle the human's combined offense. 'This body is far, far too fragile to handle combat of this intensity for so long… if I were able to subdue them by now, this wouldn't have been a problem. My breath is growing shorter and shorter with each passing minute, damn it… I need those damn Dragon Balls...'

"Don't think you're finished with us yet! Take this!"

Swinging around, the demon king had only a moment's notice before a ki blast of Gohan's own crashed into his stomach, forcing him off his feet and sending him barreling backwards as it edged against his abdomen, just daring to explode. Piccolo seethed, snarled and roared in pain as he pushed against it with both of his hands. "I am growing tired of you meddlesome idiots! Just die already!"

He was about to push back Gohan's attack with even greater force; however, a shrill cry diluted his attention.

"Dodon Ray!" he heard a voice cry out, and turned just in time to see the triclops fire a pencil-thin ray of light against his back. Instinctually, he threw a free hand up to try and parry the attack away, but soon found his body had little more to give against the combined assault of Tien and Gohan.

'RRGH! Damn him, that intelligent triclops… he must be well aware of the stamina issues I'm having...' Piccolo growled to himself as he forced his aged palms in either direction of the blast and tried to channel his own energy to halt the attack's progress. 'But my throne awaits! I won't perish here!'

"I…" Tien stuttered, his body wracking with sheer pain as he tried to put everything he had into the attack. "...I can't give in now! I made a promise to myself… of what I would become… and I'm hellbent on it! Die, Piccolo!"

The demon's eyes widened as he realized the dire situation at hand, feeling an extra pulse of power fire its way through the ray of light and force it to expand against his palm. The energy being poured from Gohan's hands was beginning to grow even more threatening as well, as if this was being puppeteered by someone in the shadows. If he wasn't able to repel this combined onslaught quickly, he knew that it wouldn't be long before he was no more.

"Y-You… are… nothing to me!" Piccolo cried out as he could feel the Dodon Ray begin to spear into his inner flesh, white-hot waves of pain traveling through his stomach and causing him to hack up a spray of blood. "**I am your superior! I am the Demon King Piccolo!"**

With that, he felt new life surge within him and fired a spiraling wave of yellow-purple energy, the contrasting colors rotating as they arced forward and backward toward the Crane and the Turtle with malicious intent. He was satisfied with seeing Gohan be consumed in the explosion before whirling around toward Tien, a dangerous gleam in his eye.

"I'm not surprised you managed to dodge that one, three-eyes. You're craftier than I imagined any warrior could be. Unfortunately, I won't tolerate such a presence in my world!" Piccolo howled, kicking off his foot and rushing in with an elbow, his intent to crush the human's skill beneath his blow. Much to his surprise, at the very last instant, Tien leapt straight over it and began ascending into the air as quickly as possible.

"W-What?!" the demon king roared as he looked upward at the triclops. "There's no way… a human in this day and age has mastered the art of flying?!"

"Master! Chiaotzu! Do it now!" Tien cried out.

Piccolo immediately felt his body immobilized, ensnared by telekinetic ropes that even began to sting ever slightly. If he could turn his head, he was sure it'd been those two freaks who hadn't partaken in the battle to this point. "D-Darn you… do you really think you can restrain me for long?!"

"They don't need to!" Tien cried out, thrusting his arms forward and placing them in a diamond-like formation, energy beginning to coalesce within them. "This is the end, Piccolo! I'll put in everything I've got into this one! No one can take this dead-on and live! Full power… Tri-Beam! Hyaaaahh!"

Despite being hastily charged, the flash of light that normally accompanied the triclops' ultimate attack came roaring from above came just as quickly as before. Though its power hadn't been fully charged, the raw energy packed into it was more than enough to slam Piccolo into the ground and cause a large explosion of light all around.

* * *

><p>"Rrgh!" snarled Tambourine, clenching his scaly fist hard enough to draw blood. "Why did Lord Piccolo have to be so damn overconfident?! He might've just gotten himself killed due to that stunt!"<p>

"H-He's not really dead, is he?!" asked Pilaf to the pterodactyl-resembling demon, his tone laced with concern. Though he had seemingly broken free from working for Piccolo, he wasn't about to take any chances—he was well aware that the two demons in front of him were fully capable of slaughtering his entire gang within the blink of an eye.

Neither Tambourine nor Piano responded.

* * *

><p>As the aesthetics of the Tri-Beam began to die down, the forest was deathly silent aside from the triclops' heavy, ragged panting. The tension was so thick it could only be cut with the sharpest blade, the atmosphere filled with an air of uncertainty.<p>

The former Crane student surveyed the damage as he began his descent down toward the ground, noting the diamond-shaped crater formed in the plains of the forest. Judging by the close-range impact, it was fair to assume that the demon king had been buried inside of the seemingly endless abyss.

TAC. Tien's feet landed lightly on the blades of grass, the only sound within the otherwise dead-silent battlefield. Sweat poured down his brow as he tried to catch a breather, just praying that the sudden surprise attack had been enough to do the deed.

"Haah…. haah…" the triclops panted, desperate to fill his lungs with as much oxygen as his body would allow. No matter how often he used the Tri-Beam, there was no ridding it of the brutal side-effects it took on his body; however, he recognized that with desperate times came desperate measures. Needless to say, his current predicament couldn't be described as anything but.

Five seconds ticked by without any sudden movements, each of them feeling like an eternity. For those five seconds, the battle was seemingly all over, the threat of Piccolo vanquished forever. All finally seemed right in the world, Mother Earth itself seeming to take a sigh of relief

And then not even a second after, the embodiment of hell rose once again.

Piccolo rocketed out of the crater with a scowl, his obsidian eyes burning with nothing short of hellacious rage. Despite the wounds and bruises covering his aged form, it was all too clear that he was alive and kicking. "**You… I will slaughter you and tear out that third eye of yours!"**

Even as he stared death in the eyes, unable to move the slightest muscle, Tien couldn't help but give one last defiant growl toward his foe. Piccolo zipped forward and swung his forearm in an arc, crashing it against Tien's cheekbone with sheer, unadulterated power. As if he'd been hit by a freight train, the triclops soared backward until he landed against the bark of a tree, unconscious.

"And that… takes care of the annoying one," Piccolo coughed out, clutching at his head for a noticeable moment. 'My power is unmatchable… yet are these humans really managing to wear down this body?! This is unacceptable!' Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gohan desperately trying to crawl to his feet and hissed violently. "Don't even think about it!" he screeched, firing off a careless bolt of energy that struck the elderly man right where he lay.

Content when he no longer moved, Piccolo returned his attention to the battlefield, looking all around him. He sinisterly smiled in satisfaction when he realized all that remained to do was eliminate the old man and the doll-looking one, who seemed even more drained than himself. "It seems your little psychic trick has cost you big. I'll admit, you hit me hard with your little set-up. Hard enough that I doubt I'd survive it again," the aged demon regrettably admitted. "But it's a good thing I won't have to deal with any more of your feeble antics."

Shen trembled in fear as Piccolo rapidly approached him, laughing all the while. The demon revealed his fangs as he grew closer to the Crane master, amused as he tried to assume any battle stance he knew of. "What's wrong, human? Are you scared?"

BOOOM!

Piccolo whirled around to see his ship explode in a brilliant flash of light and those idiotic, incompetent excuses for henchmen freefall straight to the ground. They fell unconscious, to be sure, but what he more concerned himself with was Tambourine, who looked worse for wear as he carried Piano in his arms.

"My son, are you all right?" the demon king called up to him, concerned. If someone had the power to destroy his ship so easily, would they prove to be a formidable foe? "Who in my name would dare to provoke us further!?"

Tambourine looked from side to side, evidently searching down the culprit behind the attack. "I'm fine, father; don't worry about me." But the demon king had already long submersed himself in his mind, a fact which his pterodactyl-resembling son was quick to notice.

'Father… he's nearing the end of his rope, isn't he…?' Piano thought to himself. Though he only let out a few more breaths than normal, it was clear from his demeanor that he was far from his optimal strength. 'It's as I thought… his body just can't take fighting for this long! We have to get out of here now!'

And just as if the universe itself wanted to spite Piano, his father immediately found himself spiraling backward from a well-aimed kick. Although he backflipped and managed to regain his stability on the ground, it was clear it had stung quite a bit.

"**G-Grah!" **Piccolo seethed, caressing his cheek as he stumbled backward. With a fanged snarl, he scowled at the new arrival as he touched down on the ground. "And just who are you supposed to be?"

Cold, unfeeling eyes bore through Piccolo's own stare. "My name is Goku," he spoke. "The newest commander of the Red Ribbon Army."

* * *

><p><em>Commander Goku?! There's <em>definitely _a missing piece to all this here, that's for sure! But fear not, because the next chapter will feature just how this development(and Goku's eyesight being restored) came to fruition before the titans meet head to head. _

_Now that we're finished with that, I would like to take a brief moment to address my future plans for this site. I wouldn't normally want to beseech you all with this(as I tried to explain in my previous chapter's notes), but given how my life is set to undergo rapid change, I feel it is quite prudent to do so._

_As you may or may not know, I've launched a YouTube channel(which has actually undergone a name change - I decided to opt for the name DeltaRott over DeltaDialga because I felt more of a connection to the name - and subsequently, my twitter has changed to DeltaRottYT) and, as any YouTuber who legitimately wants to try and build a fanbase would do, I'm going to devote a relatively significant portion of my free time to it. As I previously mentioned, I want to get into doing Let's Plays, reviews, and all the like(which will still see Dragon Ball be featured on my channel quite a bit), which is going to be a definite adjustment period for myself. Since this story has last updated, I have procured all the recording software I need for recording Xbox One and Wii U content; now I'm just waiting on getting a capture card 3DS and potentially building a personal computer for gaming purposes. This is a legitimately serious endeavor on my part, one that is going to outprioritize my FanFiction at every turn. As a result, I may be writing less than I used to. The channel isn't set to launch for another month or two, because I want to really grow comfortable with everything that goes into YouTubing(commentary, learning what I need in terms of editing videos together, etc.), but when it does, I plan to hit the ground running._

_However, there is still a ray of hope for this story yet. I've recently decided that I'm going to be doing a revamp of sorts to the plot of _Red Son. _The core direction and major events that are destined to happen within the story are still set; I am merely changing around a few things that I feel will tell a better story than what I had previously(and make it more concise). The one most significant change, however, is that the ending of DB will potentially culminate in the story's grand conclusion(and, as such, will resolve many plot threads that I'll have opened by then). This isn't due to a lack of motivation or anything, but ultimately is because of my realization that traversing throughout DBZ might be a genuinely impossible task considering my update speed(and that's something I just can't break my back over anymore) and plans for the future… even forgetting YouTube._

**-Raos: I think I asked this in a previous review but why did Goku act exactly the same in the begining? I mean The only reason Goku became who he was, was because of the hit to the head. Even if he was taken out of his pod before he was brainwashed by the message shouldn't he have started with a cold attitude instead of having Tao beat it into him? **

**By the way great story. Everything you've written has been great. But I would like my question answered if you can.**

If you go back to the earliest chapter, you'll notice Goku's head takes a rather significant bump against the spacecraft. That was my subtle(yet potentially overlooked) hint at Goku's personality being changed from the very get-go.

**-Lord Kratos: Any more "Turbulence" chapters?**

I'm debating on giving it a conclusion. When I went on my hiatus, I knew full well that I was only going to go up to Frieza with that story, but I've realized since then that even getting up to Frieza would become a chore. Truthfully, I'm not even happy with the way I set up the initial story now, so finding a reasonable ending to it is already difficult in itself.

Scratch that. There IS something I could do, which I might entertain. But I'll keep that under my hat.

**-Transformersg1's-Prime I see Tien is more hostile to the Z-Gang than he was in the original canon and Turbulence. I wonder just how much will affect events to come, cause I only hope he doesn't go down the path of darkness as a human version of Vegetation, though Goku may already occupy that position now.**

I wouldn't qualify Goku or Tien as necessarily substitutions for Vegeta as a whole. They're not meant to be. If the story gets up to Dragon Ball Z, I'm sure Vegeta will make himself known in some capacity.


End file.
